Wiess Tabletop's Drop Dead is full of life, laughs, farce

By Garrett Schumann     11/20/08 6:00pm

Able to win over even the least easily amused of viewers, Wiess Tabletop's production of Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore's Drop Dead is a hilarious, mischevious romp.True, the plot is not the best in the world, and the set is deliberately silly. But this joyfully self-deprecating play is guaranteed to make just about anyone laugh. Director Danny Shanaberger, a Wiess College sophomore, and producers Roque Sanchez, a Wiess senior, and Jacob Pflug, a Wiess sophomore, deserve praise for picking a show well-suited for college theater.

Drop Dead is set during the final rehearsals and opening night of a horrendously bad play, a murder mystery. The actors are desperately trying to remember their lines, and the playwright is roaming drunkenly about the set, with only hours before the first performance. The plot thickens as, before the mystery show can open, real murders begin to occur backstage. What ensues is a goofy play-within-a-play that rapidly becomes a screwball farce.

In many ways, the jokes in the show poke fun at the stereotypically low standards of student actors. There are corny accents, low-budget costumes and more melodramatic moments than viewers can count on both hands, but because these are supposed to be there, they work brilliantly. It's clear that no one involved in the show takes the proceedings too seriously and that the actors want to have fun. The audience cannot help but join in the merriment.

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All the actors are intelligently cast, but Wiess freshman T.J. Burleson virtually steals the show with a humorous portrayal of Chaz Looney, an understudy who gets a leading role after an actor mysteriously disappears. Burleson portrays Looney's anxiety, naivete and slow-wittedness with a deadpan delivery with an awkwardness reminiscent of The Office's Dwight Schrute. This approach to the character is not only effective and believable, but manifests many of the show's funniest moments.

The rest of the cast delivers strong performances as well. Wiess freshman Jen Dirkes plays the regal Mona Monet, in constant conflict with Wiess freshman Matt Banks's Brent Reynolds, a method actor who takes his craft a little too seriously. Wiess freshman Nathan Gabriel is solid as the submissive stage hand, Phillip, and Wiess freshman John Palmeri uses his seniority among the actors to effectively communicate the desperation of failed middle-aged playwright Alabama Miller. Will Rice College freshman Hannah Thalenberg is perfectly suited to her role as the overbearing director, Victoria le Pewe, and Brown sophomore Jane Labyer portrays ex-porn star Candy Apples like a pro.

Drop Dead is an absolute delight to watch. While imperfect and hardly profound, it provides a healthy dose of zany, madcap humor and a refreshing reminder of the joys of college theater. If you want to relax, laugh and enjoy the products of our community's members, go see Drop Dead.

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