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'Lives'
Goes On: Uptown Players Overcome Disaster
By Tom Sime / Excerpted from Dallas
Morning News 6/15/2002 ©2002
It's a slam-dunk
of a comedy, and even the somewhat troubled state of Uptown Players' production,
which opened Friday at the Trinity River Arts Center, couldn't dampen the performers'
glee over the gag-packed script. As opening-night crises go, however, Uptown had
a doozy when actress Robyne Gulledge took ill and was hospitalized shortly before
curtain – 15 minutes before, we were told. So director Andi Allen, on book but
en pointe, filled in as betrayed and vengeful small-town Texas housewife Noleta
Nethercott. Ms. Allen's tearful first scene – no doubt some of the tears were
the real thing – set the stage for this wacky comedy. It must be tempting to
play it all to the hilt, and most of the actors do. It works; the writing isn't
exactly subtle. But Lisa Hassler hits a more powerful note by playing it straight.
Her Latrelle's secret weapon is sincerity. Sordid Lives allows for both method
and madness.
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Subtler
'Sordid' is More Charming
By Perry Stewart / Excerpted from
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram 6/16/2002 ©2002
In a new staging
of Sordid Lives by Uptown Players, Ted Wold wrenches funny bones and pulls at
heartstrings as Brother Boy. The play opens with preparations for the funeral
of Peggy Ingram. Should Ty, her grandson, fly home for the funeral?
This character's bittersweet monologues are delivered to his psychiatrist. They provide welcome relief from the general buffoonery
and they underscore a deftly shaded portrait by Nye Cooper.
Lisa Hassler maintains superb balance along a precarious tightrope as Ty's in-denial
mother...Steve Lovett hits the mark in two roles: Odell and a preacher right
out of Greater Tuna.
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'Sordid
Lives' by Del Shores, Uptown Players
By John Garcia / Excerpted from John
Garcia's The Column/TalkinBroadway.com 6/22/2002 ©2002
This
past season I have observed some truly outstanding work from some of our women
directors within this artistic community. You can now add Andi Allen to this
list! This actress/playwright/director has created one of the funniest comedies
of the season, hands down!…For this production, Allen could not have cast this
any better. Within
this brilliant cast are some hilarious actors…Angela Wilson as "Lavonda";"Latrelle Williamson" is played to perfection by Lisa Hassler. Donald McDonald is a comical
riot as the lover who lost his mistress… Steve Lovett has two roles to play with,
thus creating two characters that earned their own basket full of laughs…Ted Wold
portrays "Earl 'Brother Boy'Ingram…This role can be played over the top, but instead
Wold goes for a more natural, organic, and honest approach to the role, resulting
in an outright splendid performance. Also delivering excellent performances are Nye Cooper as "Ty Williamson"
and Allyn Carrell as "Sissy Hickey". In this cast of brilliant actors, there was
one comic powerhouse performance...Robyne Gulledge! Andi Allen
and her cast have in their hands one of the funniest productions that I seen this
season.
Lesser
'Tuna': Uptown Players gets down to some mean family bidness in 'Sordid Lives'
By Elaine Liner / Excerpted from
the Dallas Observer 6/20/2002 ©2002 New Times, Inc.
Small-town life gets a brutal but hilarious going-over in 'Sordid Lives'. And the 11 actors
in the Uptown Players company wring the living daylights out of every line. The fine performance of
Ted Wold as Brother Boy keeps this from plunging too far into idiotic slapstick.
The rest of the company takes hold of the material and chews it like a $2 steak. But
dang, they're funny when they nail it. Angela Wilson displays sharp comic timing
as the explosive, beady-eyed LaVonda, whose partner in most scenes is the downtrodden
Noleta, played on opening night by director Andi Allen after the sudden preshow
illness of the actress cast in the role. Allyn Carrell is a stitch as the nicotine-deprived
Sissy. Steve Lovett gets plenty of mileage out of two roles: dumb-as-dirt barfly
Odell and toupee-topped Reverend Barnes.
Cheap
Fun with a Texas Accent: Sordid Lives' twangy, far-fetched plot bound together
by gut-busting comedy
By Arnold Wayne Jones / Excerpted
from the Dallas Voice 6/21/2002 ©2002
During the Uptown Players’ production of Sordid Lives you are actively aware that it
panders mercilessly, and fuels laughter like that mischievous uncle who tickled
you relentlessly against your will. If the play is sketchy
and calculatedly shocking, it is also hugely entertaining and well-acted by much
of the cast. The
most accomplished performer is Wilson as LaVonda.
And while most of the men’s parts are underwritten, Wold’s flittery, breathless performance as Brother Boy adds a sense
of balance to the cast. If you are looking for cheap fun, though, there’s no
better ticket in town. |
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