Theatre Review: Theatre Three's Festival Of One-Act Plays

Treat Yourself to Theatre Three’s Festival of One-Act Plays

By Cindi Sansone-Braff

Photos: Peter Lanscombe, Theatre Three Productions, Inc.

Theatre Three’s 25^th Annual Festival of One-Act Plays features eight edgy, entertaining, and engaging world premieres selected from 1200 submissions. Under Jeffrey Sanzel’s creative direction,  these diverse plays, ranging from existential musings on mortality to murder and complex matters of the heart, thoroughly captivated Saturday afternoon’s audience.

Courtney Gilmore, Rob SchindlarOne-act plays are meant to be performed in an intimate theatrical space, and Theatre Three’s Ronald F. Peierls Theatre on the Second Stage offers the perfect venue. These theatrical slices of life effortlessly transport the audience from one imaginary world to the next. A short play needs conflict, well-crafted dialogue, memorable characters, and provocative settings to be effective. This year’s eight featured plays checked all those boxes.

The festival opened with Brian C. Petti’s humorous and thought-provoking play, “Bovine Existential,” which takes place in an unusual setting—a slaughterhouse holding pen. Two Theatre Three veterans, Phyllis March as First Cow, a die-hard pessimist, and Linda May as Second Cow, a wide-eyed optimist, contemplate the meaning of life and death. March and May delivered Petti’s artfully crafted dialogue with precision-perfect timing. Kudos to Jason Allyn for his adorable black and white Holstein costumes.

Steven Ulhlein, Sean Amato, Cassidy Rose O’Brien, Jae Hughes, Julia AlbinoDeirdre Girard’s well-written, suspenseful drama, “A Year to Grieve,” is set in a secluded cabin where two mystery writers speculate on the perfect murder. Brittany Lacey as Heather and Evan Teich as Thomas had great onstage chemistry and kept the audience on the edge of their seats as they played their respective roles in this cat-and-mouse thriller.  

Laura Neill’s four-character comedy, “Juliet Wakes Up,” set in a tomb in Verona, Italy, offers a different ending to Shakespeare’s tragic tale of two young star-crossed lovers. Neill’s tongue-in-cheek twist on Shakespeare’s most beloved characters, the slapstick plot, and witty dialogue made this a standout play. Cassidy Rose O’Brien as Juliet, Julia Albino as Rosaline, and Gina Lardi as Willow gave noteworthy performances. These three talented actors played off each other, and their back-and-forth banter left the audience in stitches. Jae Hughes, a gifted comedic actor, inspired big belly laughs floundering about the stage as the fatally wounded Romeo.

The first half of the show closed with a riveting four-character tragic play, “Rescue,” by Kevin Podgorski. This heartrending drama centers around Dot, a good-to-a-fault grandmother convincingly played by Ginger Dalton, and her incorrigible grandson, rivetingly portrayed by Steven Ulhlein. Andrew Markowitz as Allen and Phyllis March as Maeve were convincing as Dot’s caring and concerned friends.

The second half opens with Aleks Merilo’s “The Nearest Far Away Place.” This evocative play takes place in a Ford Fiesta and features a young hitchhiker and the man who gives her a ride. The Young Woman talks too much, and the Man, at first reticent, slowly opens up. Being seat-belted in a subcompact vehicle doesn’t allow for much physical action, yet Courtney Gilmore and Rob Schindlar gave monumental performances as they grimaced, squirmed in their seats, and gave heartfelt deliveries of their many poignant lines.

Linda May, Phyllis MarchLisa Dellagiarino Feriend’s well-written fantasy play, “The Curse,” is set at a beach where a woman has an unusual seaside encounter. Cassidy Rose O’Brien is a talented performer who brought her A-game to the role of Beth. Sean Amato was believable as the mystical creature from under the sea. One of the show-stopping moments of the festival happened when the lights came up, revealing Sean Amato’s hilarious costume and the audience burst out laughing.

Gina Lardi, Ginger DaltonMichele Markarian’s dark comedy, “Grave Matters,” takes place in a cemetery. Gina Lardi gave a stellar performance as Paula, a young woman standing before her father’s grave, imploring him for help. When her irascible dead mother shows up instead, the fun begins. Ginger Dalton as the wise-cracking dead mom was one of the show’s highlights. 

The festival ended with a moving drama by the accomplished Johanna Beale Keller, “That Hike to Hart Lake,” which traces college friends on an eighty-year journey. Julia Albino, Sean Amato, Jae Hughes, Cassidy Rose O’Brien, and Steven Ulhlein all gave outstanding performances. Jae Hughes delivered a moving monologue at the end of the play, which brought me to tears.

Theatre Three’s talented, hardworking company delivered an exciting and memorable theatrical experience with this year’s Festival of One-Act Plays. Watching the actors play multiple roles and assist with the rapid scene changes was awe-inspiring. A big round of applause goes to Tim Haggerty for his outstanding sound design. The realistic sounds of barnyard animals, crickets, birds, sirens, and a few well-chosen songs helped make those faster-than-the-speed-of-light set changes interesting to behold.  

Theatre Three’s 25^th Annual Festival of One-Act Plays is theatre at its best. There is limited seating, so get your tickets now. Running through March 23, 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 full-length Music Drama, “Beethoven, The Man, The Myth, The Music,” is published by Next Stage Press. www.Grantmeahigherlove.com.