Anecdotal evidence would seem to suggest that most casual theatergoers have some experience onstage or backstage themselves. This works in the favor of the Hobo Junction production of Josh Zagoren's "Talk Kiss Blackout."
Backstage comedy is a tricky thing to pull off, and this show succeeds, mostly, in that it will probably be very funny to anyone who's ever endured the first night of tech rehearsal a few times, and less so to anyone who hasn't.
The characters are all broad, stock types, none of them are given names, which has an unfortunate distancing effect. The people in this play are unquestionably caricatures rather than characters, even if they're entertaining caricatures. We have the foul tempered Stage Manager (Alena Risinger), the pretentious Director (Andrew Marchetti) and the even more pretentious Artistic Director of the company (Cyra Polizzi) These types are more than a bit tired but the performers do a good job of making them seem new.
The play within the play is a romantic comedy, but the two leads, the somewhat creepy Derek Garza, and the prudish Crystal Harford hate each other. These actors are both loads of fun, especially in a running gag where they almost manage to kiss but keep getting interrupted by inopportune bodily functions, which is handled about as intelligently as is possible to handle flatulence type humor.
The real romance takes place between two members of the stage crew, an angry, stifled male, played by Dane Lewandowski, and a low-key, philosophical female, Kellyn Mclean. They have a few endearing moments together but their romance feels terribly rushed. Talk Kiss Blackout could have definitely spared a few more minutes of character development to go along with the laughs.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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