WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?
Summer Night Theatre Ensemble
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Directed by Dorothy Milne, this is a pleasant, gently funny hour and a half, but it could do with some trimming and, oddly, a little more self-consciousness. Abdoo has a warm, natural presence onstage and strikes up an instant rapport with the audience; but at times her show is too much like being trapped in a bar with a loquacious if entertaining girlfriend. You can relax, knowing that she’ll do the talking for both of you, but as her chatter begins to meander, you wonder if she’s working toward any sort of point. Abdoo’s loosely structured monologue has some killer observations–I particularly enjoyed her take on Barbie’s precarious posture, her nostalgic recollections of school lunches, and the portrait of her “slender, beautiful mother from the Dominican Republic.” But the stories seem random, giving us only a general overview of Abdoo’s life. Notably, there’s no definite conclusion–the show just peters out as Abdoo edges offstage like someone reluctantly hanging up on an enjoyable phone conversation. In a way such guileless behavior onstage is charming, but if the writing were tighter the audience wouldn’t need to be cued that the show is over.
