The best children’s entertainment communicates greater truths in ways children understand and adults appreciate.
In “Shel’s Shorts,” a night of short plays meant for adults, Shel Silverstein shows that his wit, humor and insight have no age limits.
Apocracy Theatre Company’s production struggles and seems amateurish, but it makes good use of Silverstein’s clever, observant humor and delivers a unique night of theater.
The 11 shorts share a fascination with human behavior, chiefly regarding boundaries and unspoken rules we observe in our lives and what encourages us to break them.
As with any night of short plays, some are better, and the best ones boast fantastic performances.
Theodore Hamblin, Apocracy’s artistic director, plays many characters, including a philosophical construction worker, an earnest sign-salesman and a flustered advertising executive.
Hamblin shows incredible commitment and a good deal of range, enjoying each character’s increasing desperation. In his scenes, he crackles with energy, and it’s a shame that some of his cast mates can’t reach his level.
Rhiannon Frazier displays no such problems. The two best shorts of the night have her to thank. In the monologue “Hangnail,” a perfect exhibition of Frazier’s talent for rapid-fire dialogue, she is wholly convincing as a woman far too obsessed with her fingernails’ health.
Her performance in the short, “Gone to Take A …” is wonderful. She works with Andy Brooks, playing her petulant employee, with energy and attention to detail. As the tale twists and turns, the actors own their character shifts and finish the night on a high note.
Much of the show entertains in fits and starts. Many pieces start wonderfully, only to lose their comedic momentum and drag across the finish line.
They could use more direction. Actors in certain roles fail to use Silverstein’s language and wordplay to the fullest when the script practically begs them to.
The design also leaves much to be desired. The set’s few drab, black flats could use color. It intrudes on many scenes, awkwardly hanging over settings that don’t seem like they should have a wall.
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The lighting, which is the same for every scene, blurs the show together and represents a missed opportunity. Slight light changes could have given the short pieces much-needed individuality.
By the end of the show, however, one leaves not just entertained, but with an informed view of the world. This is the true magic of Silverstein’s work, and Apocracy’s production of “Shel’s Shorts” achieves it.
SHEL’S SHORTS
by Shel Silverstein
The Box Performance Space and Improv Theatre
100 Gold Ave. SW #112
(Second Street and Gold Avenue)
Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m.
General Admission $12
Student $10
