& 5,6,7,8!

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Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Last week Sandra and I went to see the premier of Steven Pillemer's and Terri Pillemer/Davidhoff's play "& 5,6,7,8!". Its "their" play because they wrote the script after being commissioned by the Catalina theatre.

The play is rivetting and holds the attention from the first moment until the final bow. It uses the high-stress high-pressure environment of backstage interactions to set the stage, as it were, for exploding the very human psyches of the the protagonists. Through excellent performances from the actors working with a script that was clearly carefully crafted, the audience is allowed to share in tragedies whose banality only deepens the sadness of their trials.

The main character, Frankie, we see struggling to hold himself together as all the bad decisions, betrayals and bad turns in his life all come to stake their claims on his life. It however, is difficult to feel too much sympathy for his travails as they are clearly deserved. But it is the intensity of his anger and his frustration that provide an excellent foil for the sufferings of the other protagonists. Each one of these characters in some way, through Frankie's downward spiral, have their pain exposed to the audience.

The script is well written, the direction is well-paced, the casting is perfect and the performances startling.

Well worth seeing. There is still a week left of performances. So book your ticket now.

later...