|
The performance
begins. An out of this world tone rings throughout the theater.
The act curtain rumblesas an eerie rolling fog and a grand
flash of light appears from behind. The music begins and the curtain
slowly opens. On stage is a smoking crate plastered with stickers
from theaters around the world, it is surrounded by a whimsically
"Van Gogh" styled set. The crate is still, then suddenly
rolls over. A saw cuts through the top of the crate and slices an
escape hatch. First we see a peering periscope, followed by the
top of a ladderit falls, and then a grappling hook shoots
out to the edge of the stage. Finally, with much effort, out from
the crate ascends a befuddled performer. He pulls out a large clock
and sets the time. The performance begins; "Here we go again."
A few performance
pieces include; hat tossing migration, a tasteful lesson in water
expulsion techniques, multitudes of ways of eating bananas, dexterity
upon the ladder, manipulation of the fire plate, tomfoolery in the
acting of a canine friend, tap dancing high jinx, explosive stilt
dancing, eccentric juggling and a lot of cleverly controlled bedlam
with "partners in play" from the audience.
The pleasantly
unpredictable interplay has reached its time limit and the
performance is complete. The alarm clock rings loudly and a low
lying fog returns to the stage. By now the callous attitude of "Here
we go again." is gone. There is a feeling of satisfied remorse
with the eccentric(Kenny Ahern). He respectfully packs his props
away and salutes each of his "partners in play" whom triumphed
with him on stage. He places a sticker from the theater onto his
crate and checks it off his list with an approving nod. The stage
lights slowly fade, leaving only a single bright light shining down
on the performer and his crate. As the final light fades to black,
the phrase "To Laugh Is To Live..." brightly shine above
the stage. The curtain closes. Instantly a loud tone rings throughout
the theatre and theres a bright flash from behind the curtainjust
as in the beginning.
The curtain
quickly reopens; all that is left is low lying fog, a bare stage
and the faint echo of laughter.
" Here
we go again..."
|