Few area companies have made the ongoing commitment to developing new American plays that Curious Theatre has. Problem is, few of the germinating projects they’ve taken on have been worthy of their considerable creative resources. Until now.
Deb Laufer’s “End Days,” at once a loving, apocalyptic and evangelical tragicomedy (whew!), isn’t a great play yet. But it’s got a greater chance of getting there after Curious’ contribution to the process.
Most new plays live and die with one staging. Curious belongs to the National New Play Network, which ensures a chosen play will be fully staged by at least four member companies in succession. This process is called a “rolling world premiere,” vastly improving a play’s chance of having an afterlife in the American theater.
“End Days” is wacky in concept but laced with melancholy: It’s the story of an American family still reeling from the 9/11 attacks. Catatonic dad Arthur is the lone survivor of an obliterated World Trade Center business. Born-again mom Sylvia is convinced the Rapture is coming . . . on Wednesday. Goth teen Rachel is hiding under layers of leather and makeup. They seek, they sleep, they evade. They’re all in hiding.
Did we mention it’s wacky? Because it is. All three have imaginary friends: Mom walks with Jesus, literally. (He’s kind of her valet, so every time actor Rhonda Brown offers a polite, “Thank you, Jesus,” you snicker.) A snotty Stephen Hawking stalks Rachel’s dreams. And Dad’s best friend is his real neighbor — a blue-jumpsuited 16-year-old who imagines he’s Elvis.
It’s all very funny, until you wonder how these people got this way. This is today’s cumulative American family, crippled and splintered by the crushing enormity of life post- 9/11. After that horror, is it so hard to believe in an annihilation that’s been foretold for centuries? What do you do when you no longer trust the benevolence of the world you now live in?
But that fear is countered with a miraculous sort of sweetness that’s personified in Nelson, the oddball orphan neighbor boy in blue who stirs all three out of their collective comas. Even though he’s just as damaged as they are.
“End Days” directly pits science, religion and suburbia, but it’s not an attack on any of them. There’s not a trace of mockery in these extraordinary performances, each tinged with compassion, humor and heartbreak.
Most marvelous is Brown, who has made a name for herself playing larger-than-life characters like Marilyn Monroe. Here, she’s instead a plain housewife grasping for anything to believe in that’s real, even if it’s the Armageddon. Brown’s unnervingly honest performance is wholly without pretense or scorn. Her Sylvia is so poignant, you’ll root for the world to end, just so she won’t be proved wrong.
Equally moving is Arthur (Marcus Waterman) and his unlikely, lovely friendship with Nathan. Young Sean Mellott comes out of nowhere in the pivotal role of the bullied kid who remains unyieldingly cheerful and endlessly, infectuously inquisitive.
David Russell adds levity in the dual roles of Hawking and a robed, 1960s Jesus; and Laura Jo Trexler is right at home as the little girl lost.
The story (directed by Christopher Leo) builds to the presumed day of the Rapture, when Sylvia gathers this fractured foursome to be saved. And in doing so, they get back to the roots of what family is. They play, they pray, they connect. The comic irony is that this is their first real quality time as a family in years — and it just may be their last day on Earth.
But, drat, leave it to a play about the end of the world not to know how to end. It’s the curse of almost every developing work. “End Days” eventually gets lost in structural confusion. The 24 hours of Rapture seem to be spread over several days. And Nelson’s pivotal personal breakthrough takes place far too early. A satisfying catharsis for all is reached, but when it does, the play just keeps going on, to no great further reward.
Laufer is clearly a major new voice, but her finishing moment lacks the punch it deserves. Whether the world comes to an end or not, a play of this great promise must not sputter to a close. It must go out with a big bang — not having had its plug pulled.
But that’s what the development process is for.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“End Days”
Apocalypse, now! Curious Theatre, 1080 Acoma St. Written by Deborah Zoe Laufer. Directed by Christopher Leo. Starring Rhonda Lee Brown, Marcus Waterman, Sean Mellott, Laura Jo Trexler and David Russell. Through July 26. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. $22-$25. 303-623-0524 or .
This weekend’s theater openings
Through July 20: Theater Company of Lafayette’s “10,000 Wayniacs: Very Short Plays Inspired by Mr. Las Vegas”
Eleven short, original comedic sketches about Sin City and its favorite crooner, Wayne Newton.
Mary Miller Theater, 300 E. Simpson, 720-209-2154 or
Through July 27: Platte Valley Players’ “The Trip to Bountiful”
Horton Foote’s poignant tale of aging widow living with her son and daughter-in-law in a three-room flat in Houston. Fearing her presence may be an imposition she imagines if she can get away and return to her old home in the town of Bountiful, she is sure to regain her strength, dignity and peace of mind. So she runs away.
At Prairie View High School, 12909 E. 120th Ave, Henderson, 303-227-3053 or platte valley players’ home page
Through July 27: Ovation Players’ “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (with Main Street Players)
The outrageous romp about a Roman slave who wins his freedom by helping his young
master charm the girl next door.
At Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Pkwy, 303-987-7845, or
Through Aug. 2: Limelight Theatre Company’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs”
This company presents theater by young adults. “Brighton” isthe first part of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy, a portrait of the writer as a Brooklyn teenager in 1937, living with his family in crowded, lower middle-class circumstances. Eugene, the young Neil Simon, is the narrator and central character. His mind is full of fiercely fantasized dreams of baseball and dimly fantasized images of girls. The play captures a few days in the life of a struggling Jewish household that includes Eugene’s hard-working father, his sharp-tongued mother, his older and vastly more experienced brother Stanley, his widowed aunt and her two young daughters.
At Bas Bleu, 401 Pine St., Fort Collins, 970-498-8949 or
Through Aug. 3: Castle Rock Players’ “Oliver”
Ray-Bans? Faded, baggy jeans? I-Pods? Castle Rock Players present Charles Dickens’ classic tale for a modern generation. It’s about the poor orphan boy who survives a harrowing trip through the dark side of London. His exploits include pick-pockets, kidnapping, friendship, murder and family found. Directed by Steve Paulding.
At Castle View High School, 5254 North Meadows Drive, Castle Rock, 303-814-7740, or
Through Aug. 14: Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s “The Three Musketeers”
Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 story of inseparable friends who live by the motto, “One for all, and all for one.” Flashing swords and plumed hats flying, these men live for their king, the women who adore them and brotherhood. This kid-friendly adaptation by Linda Alper, Douglas Langworthy and Penny Metropulos (she directed the Denver Center’s “You Can’t Take it With You”) was first produced at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 1999. It emphasizes the romance, the swashbuckling, the piratical element, the spectacle and the humor.
University Mainstage, CU-Boulder campus, 303-492-0554 or
Through Aug. 16: Paragon’s “This is How It Goes”
Paragon Theatre, winner of The Denver Post’s Ovation Award for best season by a theater company, opens the regional premiere of Neil LaBute’s incendiary, interracial new comedy. “This is How it Goes” tackles racism, adultery and deception with his trademark brutal hilarity, proving no story is black and white.
Crossroads Theatre at Five Points, 2590 Washington St., 303-300-2210 or
Though Aug. 17: Spotlight’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”
Neil Simon’s comedy is a homage to the author’s early days in show biz, when he worked as a junior comedy writer for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.” He was stuck in a room with a bunch of the looniest writers ever — Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart and others. As the writers try to top each other with gags while competing for the attention of head madman Max Prince (the Sid Caesar character), Max contends with the NBC brass who fear his humor is too sophisticated for middle America.
At West Colfax Event Center, 9797 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, 303-232-0363 or
Through Aug. 23: Barth Hotel’s “Hot L Baltimore”
Lanford Wilson’s play is set in a seedy hotel so rundown, it has lost the “e” from its marquee. This once elegant, now-decrepit hotel is the gathering place for the lost souls, retired old people, misfits and prostitutes living on the lowest rung of society’s ladder. During the course of one day we witness the drama of passing live events, of everyday encounters as residents struggle to maintaining their dignity and honor while their world heads toward upheaval.
at the Barth Hotel, 1514 17th St., 303-534-7142 or or
Through Aug. 23: Backstage Theatre’s “Guys on Ice”
This musical spends a day in the life of three Wisconsin fishing buddies who break out into songs such as “Ode to a Snowmobile Suit” and “Fish Is the Miracle Food.”
121 S. Ridge St., Breckenridge, 970-453-0199 or
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of every currently running production in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page.
This week’s podcast: Running Lines with Sierra and Summer Boggess
This week, Denver Post theater critic John Moore speaks with who is occasionally playing cello in the “Mermaid” orchestra. To listen, click on the miniplayer’s triangular “play” button, above, and the podcast will begin playing without your having to download. Or, right-click on the “download MP3” option to save a copy to your own desktop. Run time: 15 minutes Recorded July 17, 2008. Run time: 16 minutes.
