Quickies Too! Scenes From A Bar Theatre Review – What Happens In The Bar Stays In The Bar

Writer and Director Moosie Drier along with Ashley Taylor in association with the Whitefire Theatre presented QUICKIES TOO! SCENES FROM A BAR to a packed Friday night crowd.  The concept of the play followed the similar, yet successful format of their most recent summer showing FRIDAY NIGHT QUICKIES:  ORIGINAL BEDROOM TALES. 

Much like the previous production in the QUICKIES series, Taylor, along with six other writers, fused together seven clever 10 minute scenes, thus putting together a night of entertainment.  The bar atmosphere was the key element in making this stage production work and each writer along with their respective actors were given a task to create scenarios revolving around a bar.  As one entered the theatre, the atmosphere was evident as the set designers did a great job of transforming the stage and capturing in detail the average watering hole.

The first 10 minute scene on deck was called FIRST DATE starring Dan Brinkle, Rif Hutton and Bridget Hoffman.  It tells the story of a woman as she prepares for the meeting of her first date.  However, there’s a glitch when her ex-boyfriend shows up to put a damper on her attempt to move on from their volatile relationship.  Hutton and Hoffman did a great job of comedically portraying the neurotic couple as they go toe-to-toe over the state of their sorry affairs and certain realizations come to light.  Brinkle’s added dry humor as well as playing the bartender throughout all of the scenes was a nice touch.  FIRST DATE was written by Bonnie Hallman. 

Next up was I’LL DRINK TO THAT starring Paul Pape, Bryan Rasmussen and Marcelo Tubert.  This tale unfolds as two pals watch a competitive basketball game on television while an intrusive third party interrupts their good time.  The actors brought a sense of genuine conversation and camaraderie to this scene and the reasons why they cheer for their favorite sports team come into question.  Pape, Rasmussen and Tubert’s chemistry was on point as the three guys waxed philosophical sports rhetoric.  It is a masterfully written and well-acted scene as the laughs kept coming.  I’LL DRINK TO THAT was written by David Wally.

 

In A DECENT TIP starring Kelly Stables, Kirk Baily and Julie Dolan, a waitress plays the go-between for two phobic people set up on a blind date.  You almost feel sorry for this poor waitress who gets unintentionally dragged into this pre-dating disaster as she only wanted to do her job and get a tip.  Dolan conveyed her confusion up for the audience to the point where it wasn’t over the top.  Bravo and kudos to Kelly Stables and Kirk Baily whose humorous comic timing over figuring out if they were each other’s conquest paced this scene rather well.  A DECENT TIP was written by Lyn Woodward. 

 

In THE SABOTEURS starring Ashley Taylor, Tommy F. Dunn, Elisa Eliot and Adam Conger, the scene explored the fundamental fears of going out on a date while humorously and maliciously touching upon dating insecurities the average male and female go through.  Taylor and Conger excellently played the two doomed daters while Dunn and Eliot played their respective, albeit brutally honest, subconscious.  Even though this selection was outrageous in its delivery, its topics were very real and relatable to common fears of dating.  THE SABOTEURS was written by Ashley Taylor.

HOW I MET YOUR FATHER starring Juan Pope, Devika Parikh and Thu Tran focused on a blind date set up of two very different people with different ideologies.  Pope and Parikh engage the audience and have great comic timing amidst the writer’s snappy dialogue.  Even though, the writer touched upon the subject of religion, it’s told in a hilarious undertone made to ponder what religious side of the fence does one really lie on.  This atypical mismatch comedy was written by Kerry Bailey.

In SOPHISTICATED BARFLIES starring Elizabeth Drier and Kim Fitzgerald, two women share drinks at the bar while scoping out men.  The scene focused on their conversation about men and the type of men that come their way and the dialogue is done in a style where their lines overlap each other.  The scene mostly plays in a single tone and almost turns into a play on words.  Drier and Fitzgerald feed seamlessly off each other as the two judgmental women destined to find their conquest.  SOPHISTICATED BARFLIES was written by Kristen Lazarian. 

And last but not least is BETTER OFF DEAD starring Stephen Taylor, Brandon Loeser, Heather Juergensen and Dave Zyler in a scene where three people get together in a bar to mourn the loss of their “dead” loved one.  The scene focused primarily on his shocking return and the hilarious reaction that he gets from his brother, his best friend and his wife.  The events that began to unfold kept coming one after the other and gave this story legs for days.  All actors provided some great comedic moments and subtle reactions to this outrageous plot that make you wonder what was going to happen next.  BETTER OFF DEAD was written by (director) Moosie Drier and Lyn Woodward.         

Overall, QUICKIES TOO! SCENES FROM A BAR masterfully weaved together some crazy tales and unlikely scenarios that entertained and tickled the funny bone.  Under the direction of Moosie Drier, he made sure that each character from their respective scenes bar patrons while the other scenes were being acted out.  Other nice touches included playing out towards the audience, bar music to set the mood and subtle decorations.  It’s much like Cheers – a place where you go where everybody knows your name.  

QUICKIES TOO! Scenes From A Bar plays at:

Whitefire Theatre
13500 Ventura Boulevard
Sherman Oaks, CA  91423
Valet Parking is available for $5.00

Special Show Info.
Running time:  Approximately 90 minutes.
There will be an intermission.
For Reservations, please contact:
(818) 990-2324     
For more information, visit: (www.whitefiretheatre.com) 
Runs 
Every Friday February 19th
through March 12 @ 8PM

Buy Tickets
$20 (Limited 1/2 Price available are available on stubdog.com)