Drama a Comedy or: Apocalypse Tuesday

Star Tribune
Stage
Theater Review
by John Townsend
February 17, 2009
http://startribune.com

Urban Samurai Productions' "Drama A Comedy or: Apocalypse Tuesday," a new spoof by Aaron Christopher, at St. Louis Park's Sabes Jewish Community Center, scathingly indicts a married couple's unearned paranoia. Gloria (Candace Stimpson) and Clarence (Paul Somers) fear everything from Muslim terrorists to illegal immigrants to rape to lesbians, even though their suburban milieu shelters them from virtually any evil that could come from beyond. Of course, it's the evil within that Christopher posits we should be wary of. Wisely and shrewdly he illuminates the notion that we magnetize negativity toward ourselves when we see only negativity, or original sin, in others.
Katie Willer directs the farce with manic, kinetic zest. The dazzling Stimpson and Somers pull out all the stops as they overreact to Al (an endearing Pedro Juan Fonseca), a gas inspector who innocently drops in only to bear the sadistic brunt of their paranoid projections. Scenic designer Erica Zaffarano has stretched long ropelike cords from floor to ceiling throughout the living room setting. A nice intimidating touch for this devilishly satirical staging.