DRUNKIN GROWNUPS
Mettle Theatre at the Heartland Studio Theatre
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The tastiest comedic moments come from the bizarre minor characters who meander in from the night. Routhier and actor Kelly Brant have created a small masterpiece in Freddie, the baker who stops the show every time he lovingly transports trays of his confections from the kitchen. Says Freddie, “I’m a simple chef and a proud father.” His only offspring are his doughnuts, on which he sprinkles love (“You’re my whole world”) and advice (“Nobody wants a bunch of desperate doughnuts”).
Jud, a fixture at Mrs. Donuts who silently builds matchstick forts in the corner, and two neo-hippies on their way to a Grateful Dead concert also provide relief from the sticky melodrama. Modern dialogue (“waitress + moron = waitron”) and funny but restrained performances by Kathy Fabian and Kimo Wills save the deadheads from stereotype. Director and set designer Mark Alexander Clover (who also plays Jud) keeps the action on the single set moving without rushing things.
Kevin Paul as Roy and Ken Bradley as Ray mirror the strengths of their characters. Wild and charismatic, Roy is the unequivocal star of his hometown and hunky actor Paul the star of this play. Ray, a less flamboyant character, is Roy’s calming influence, and appropriately Bradley’s solid performance gives the production its foundation. The brothers’ bond is portrayed unerringly in a funny bit where Roy drunkenly demonstrates to Ray that chocolate, popcorn, and beer make the perfect sweet-salty-sour combination, and poignantly when Ray confesses to sleeping with Roy’s wife while Roy was in Vietnam.
