Theatre Review 'Theatre Three's Festival Of One-Acts'

By Cindi Sansone-Braff

Photos by Peter Lanscombe, Theatre Three Productions, Inc.

The Curtain Rises on a Sold-Out House at Theatre Three’s Festival of One-Acts

Director Jeffrey Sanzel and his multitalented company of actors have worked arduously to make Theatre Three’s 24^th Annual Festival of One-Act Plays a smashing success. From a whopping 750 submissions worldwide, seven short plays were selected to have their world premieres produced at the intimate Ronald F. Peierls Theatre on the Second Stage.   

Theatre Three 24th Annual One-Act Festival Down to the Wire by Julia Everitt with Daniell Pafundi & Samantha FierroThis year’s festival opened on a light note with Julia Everitt’s Down to the Wire, an absurdist comedy about a college student whose procrastination over a class assignment drives her roommate crazy. Samantha Fierro as Brittany and Danielle Pafundi as Ella were excellent in their comedic roles.

Playwright Mark Cofta’s one-act play Markings appeared in Theatre Three’s Seventh Annual Festival. Sadly, Mr. Cofta passed away last July, but his artistic legacy lives on in his touching drama A Citrus Day. This gut-wrenching play revolves around two teenage half-siblings who meet for the first time and compassionately come to grips with some dark, long-kept family secrets. As the kind, soft-spoken Lorrie, Melissa Norman brought warmth and likability to the part, and Tristan Prin aced the role of Fenton, a nervous, insecure, and shy young man. 

Leslie Dianne’s Accepting Adina was another touching family drama, only this one centered around a father and son struggling to accept loss, move forward, and embrace a new normal. This play featured two Theatre Three veterans, Steven Uihlein as the son and Steve Ayle as the father. Mr. Uihlein and Mr. Ayle have great onstage chemistry, and these talented men gave heartrending, nuanced, and memorable performances.

One-Act Festival THEATRE THREE The Dating Pool Samantha Fierro, Tamralynn Dorsa, Phyllis March, Ava Andrejko, Brittany Lacey.Playwright Arianna Rose’s short plays And The Beat Goes On and Family by Numbers were performed in the last two Theatre Three festivals. This year’s entry, The Dating Pool, is a well-crafted dramedy about a widow of a certain age. She is confronted by younger versions of herself as she contemplates taking the dangerous plunge back into the dating pool. This creative play has five great roles for women of different ages, and Phyllis March, Ava Andrejko, Samantha Fierro, Brittany Lacey, and Tamralynn Dorsa all gave award-worthy performances.

One-Act Festival THEATRE THREE Unclaimed Baggage Antoine Jones, Angelo DiBiase, Jason Furnari, Tamralynn Dorsa, Phyllis MarchAct Two opened with Keith Whalen’s highly entertaining play Unclaimed Baggage. This thought-provoking piece takes place in an airport and is a metaphorical and often hilarious look at all the emotional baggage humans drag around with them. Angelo Dibiase gave a brilliant performance as Marvin, a grumpy, ungrateful man who comes to see the error of his ways. As Finn, the baggage handler, Jason Furnari gave a stellar performance showcasing his solid comedic and dramatic acting skills. Antoine Jones, Tamralynn Dorsa, and Phyllis March were also outstanding.

Larry Brenner’s First Bite is a comedic, supernatural take on modern-day dating that had the audience laughing out loud. Evan Teich gave a standout performance as John, a likable, charismatic, and charming vampire, and Brittany Lacey was brilliant as Wanda, a woman with a colorful dating history.

The festival closed on a high note with Mark Loewenstern’s The Slightly Exaggerated True Story of “Civic Virtue.” Although only twenty minutes long, this well-researched, well-crafted historical play is epic in nature. It tells the fascinating story of a marble sculpture, “Civic Virtue Triumphant Over Unrighteousness,” and how this work of art, displayed outside City Hall in New York City, created an uproar that lasted for more than 90 years. It took the entire company, filling the whole stage, to bring this mesmerizing play to life.  

One-Act Festival THEATRE THREE Entire CompanyTheatre Three’s high-energy, dedicated company brought their A-game to this festival, playing multiple roles and helping with the superfast scene changes. A big round of applause goes out to Sean Amato, Ava Andrejko, Steve Ayle, Angelo Dibiase, Tamralynn Dorsa, Samantha Fierro, Jason Furnari, Antoine Jones, Brittany Lacey, Phyllis March, Melissa Norman, Danielle Pafundi, Tristan Prin, Evan Teich, and Steven Uihlein.

Theatre Three’s 24^th Annual Festival of One-Act Plays is theatre at its best. There is limited seating, so drop whatever you are doing and get your tickets now. Running through March 25, for ticket information, call the box office: (631) 928-1130, Monday-Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, or visit their websites at www.TheatreThree.com.

Please note: Adult Content and language. Parental discretion is advised.

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright. She has a BFA in Theatre from UCONN and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She is the author of Grant Me a Higher Love, Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships, and Confessions of a Reluctant Long Island Psychic. Her short play, No Rest of a Soul, is in the Think Fast Theater Project Festival.    www.Grantmeahigherlove.com.