Catch the Butcher @ The Cherry Lane Theater

A serial killer is stalking the streets of Texas. He’s already kidnapped and killed eleven women. And in the first 5 minutes of Catch the Butcher, Bill (Jonathan Walker) kidnaps Nancy (Lauren Luna Vélez) to make his kill list an even dozen. But the tables have turned: Nancy wanted to be kidnapped. Thus starts a hilarious dark comedy full of twists and turns.

The script itself, written by Adam Seidel, is a seriously dark comedy that could easily devolve into something plodding and dark or silly and nonsensical. The show delightfully straddles that line. Laughs come easily, particularly after the story gets rolling. One of the main themes seems to be a play on Stockholm Syndrome, and in this case, that concept gets flipped on its head with Nancy the “victim” winning her captor over and eventually putting herself completely in charge.

Most of the show is a two hander between Walker and Vélez. They have an easy chemistry with one another, elevating the slightly stilted beginnings between Bill and Nancy that develops into an almost childish romance that quickly shifts to a battle of wills. It’s a wide range of relationships to be sure, but Walker and Vélez combat each shift with ease and a wholeheartedness that just makes you want to grin. Credit should also be given to director Valentina Fratti for guiding and navigating the scenes in interesting ways. Some of the twists I didn’t see coming, including one surprising turn involving a fork, and it’s a combination of both the actors and the director that keep things interesting and non-predictable.

A fun interlude to the isolation of Bill and Nancy is the uproariously colorful Joanne (Angelina Fiordellisi). Joanne bursts in the last 3rd of the play and brings a ton of fun and comedy and joy to the proceedings, keeping things from becoming seriously grim and unwittingly pushing Nancy to turn the tables on Bill and move things towards the finale. Fiordellisi has an amazing amount of punch and vigor that was a refreshing change onstage. Both Nancy and Bill have an undercurrent of calm running through them, and Joanne disrupts that in the best way.

The design elements and theater itself bring a great intimacy and immediacy to the action going onstage. The theater is small and intimate, so you can see every detail. The scenic design by Lauren Helpern places you right in the spaces with cool and dark detail, aided by the mix of shadows and light created by lighting designer Graham Kindred. Costume designer Brooke Cohen helps navigate the different scene tones with her full color palette of costumes.

If you’re looking to laugh at some great dark humor, look no further than Catch the Butcher. It will be playing at the Cherry Lane Theatre at 38 Commerce Street through October 30th.

Review By: Chrissy Cody
Photos By: Carol Rosegg

Phoenix @ The Cherry Lane Theatre

Phoenix, written by Scott Organ and directed by Jennifer Delia is a two-person play starring Julia Stiles (Oleanna) as Sue and James Wirt (Let’s Kill Grandma This Christmas) as Bruce. It takes place in New York City and Phoenix though it really could be a story told anywhere in the United States. A one-night-stand with a consequential outcome serves as the catalyst for these two people’s very unlikely, and even curiously awkward, relationship.

Cherry Lane Theatre is set on a quaint street in SoHo and is certainly a place I’ll visit again. There is not a bad seat in the house, but do bring a sweater as the AC was set for a menopausal woman. Yikes! Caite Hevner Kemp did the set design which was hip and contemporary and together with Rick Carmona who did the lighting design, Janie Bullard who did the sound design, and Burton Machen who was the scenic artist, created an aesthetically pleasing view even if it did not make sense nor lend itself to a better understanding of the plot. Amit Gajwani costumed the two characters so they could really be any 20 or 30 something which is fitting with the American culture that serves as foundation to the storyline.

The ethical dilemmas that arise when you have two completely contradictory goals is present in the script though the articulation missed the mark. I could not tell if Sue was an emotionally vacant and self-consumed woman or if she was simply portrayed that way. And Bruce, bless his heart, seemed to be a well-intentioned man, but definitely a door mat for this woman who seemed to equate “the right to her body” with the right to be rude, abusive, vacillating between a femme fatale and “my way or the highway” gavel pounder. The severity of the issues: unwanted pregnancy, abortion, death, loss of hope, heartbreak, loneliness were hardly impressed upon the audience beyond sarcasm, yelling, or a science fiction fantasy story, more whimsical than tragic. There is a lot that can be done with this play and I really felt that the audience was pulling for Julia and James even if not for Sue and Bruce- the two have chemistry between them.

Along with Rose Riccardi, production state manager, Katie Fergerson, assistant stage manager, Jeremy Duncan Pape, production manager, Brierpatch Productions, general management, there was a host of producers: Nicholas Jabbour, Julie Pacino, Poverty Row Entertainment, Rian Patrick Durham, and Rattlestich Playwrights Theater. Get tickets for this one-act play with a limited engagement through August 23rd.

Review by: Michele Seven
Photos by: Harry Fellows