Diversions > Theater
The Waiting Room
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Monday, January 21, 2008 3:13 PM CST
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Play: The Waiting Room
Group: St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Venue: Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle
Dates: January 24,25,26,27,31, February 1,2,3
Tickets: $15 and $20; contact 314-458-2978 or www.stlas.org
Story: Patrick Innes and his sister, Jessie Innes James, arrive at the waiting room of the county hospital in their North Carolina home, awaiting further news about their brother, who has suffered a heart attack. While Jessie frets and Patrick pontificates about anything that comes to his mind, they are soon joined by their nephew Riley, a successful restaurateur who lives with his wife and two children in one of the state’s big cities. Riley’s arrival allows his country farmer uncle the opportunity to bring him up to date on his dad’s condition as well as politics, romance and the family itself.
It seems that the African-American Innes men and women have not only plowed the fields for all these years but sown the seeds of deception and doubt along with the corn and tobacco. As they congregate at the hospital to tend to their fallen relative, they stir up plenty of ancillary antics as they chat with a lady visiting her ailing sister as well as a young woman concerned about her daughter, a sexy nurse and a pair of sidewinders who amble on in, namely a Confederate flag-adorned geezer and his amiable, good ol’ boy son who played football with Riley. Let the talking, and the shenanigans, begin.
Highlights: Patrick Huber does a nice job conveying the look of a country hospital visitors’ room, even allowing a scene shift on the cozy stage for an "outdoors" look, and also provides lighting. Felia Katherine Davenport adds a nice touch on the costumes as well.
Other Info: Playwright Samm-Art Williams has written at least 20 plays, including the award-winning drama, Home. Many of his works focus on simple, straightforward folks from his North Carolina background. Williams also has worked in television, overseeing a fine comedy called Frank’s Place as well as Will Smith’s vehicle to stardom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Unfortunately, for every Frank’s Place, Seinfeld or Taxi there are dozens of pilots that crash and burn as well as an endless litany of insipid, so-called comedies that limp to well-deserved deaths, even if some live surprisingly long. The Waiting Room falls into the latter category.
While containing humorous moments here and there, The Waiting Room is at least 30 minutes too long, and continually strains for forced, incredible and painfully embarrassing laughs. The storyline is telegraphed so fast it would make Samuel Morse envious, and just keeps getting worse.
Ron Himes’ direction of the St. Louis Actors’ Studio effort is lackluster and overly soft, so that only William Roth’s performance shows a glimmer of the talent the cast surely possesses. Roth alone is able to take his hokey character a bit beyond crude caricature. Where is tough love when you need it?
Rob Demery and Roman James, as a pair of 40-year-old former high school classmates, don’t even look like they’re 30. Rita Washington and Eddie Webb play Uncle Patrick and Aunt Jessie as broadly as they can, although not as broadly as Candice Jackson as the young mother or Chuck Lavazzi as good ol’ whiskey-swillin’, Rebel-lovin’ Gordon MacInnes. Choyce Johnson completes the cast as Cookie, another resident of this curious country place. They’ve all done better work.
The Waiting Room should more appropriately be set in a veterinary clinic, because a horse is being beaten to death on the premises.
Rating: A 2 on a scale of 1-to-5.
Group: St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Venue: Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle
Dates: January 24,25,26,27,31, February 1,2,3
Tickets: $15 and $20; contact 314-458-2978 or www.stlas.org
Story: Patrick Innes and his sister, Jessie Innes James, arrive at the waiting room of the county hospital in their North Carolina home, awaiting further news about their brother, who has suffered a heart attack. While Jessie frets and Patrick pontificates about anything that comes to his mind, they are soon joined by their nephew Riley, a successful restaurateur who lives with his wife and two children in one of the state’s big cities. Riley’s arrival allows his country farmer uncle the opportunity to bring him up to date on his dad’s condition as well as politics, romance and the family itself.
It seems that the African-American Innes men and women have not only plowed the fields for all these years but sown the seeds of deception and doubt along with the corn and tobacco. As they congregate at the hospital to tend to their fallen relative, they stir up plenty of ancillary antics as they chat with a lady visiting her ailing sister as well as a young woman concerned about her daughter, a sexy nurse and a pair of sidewinders who amble on in, namely a Confederate flag-adorned geezer and his amiable, good ol’ boy son who played football with Riley. Let the talking, and the shenanigans, begin.
Highlights: Patrick Huber does a nice job conveying the look of a country hospital visitors’ room, even allowing a scene shift on the cozy stage for an "outdoors" look, and also provides lighting. Felia Katherine Davenport adds a nice touch on the costumes as well.
Other Info: Playwright Samm-Art Williams has written at least 20 plays, including the award-winning drama, Home. Many of his works focus on simple, straightforward folks from his North Carolina background. Williams also has worked in television, overseeing a fine comedy called Frank’s Place as well as Will Smith’s vehicle to stardom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Unfortunately, for every Frank’s Place, Seinfeld or Taxi there are dozens of pilots that crash and burn as well as an endless litany of insipid, so-called comedies that limp to well-deserved deaths, even if some live surprisingly long. The Waiting Room falls into the latter category.
While containing humorous moments here and there, The Waiting Room is at least 30 minutes too long, and continually strains for forced, incredible and painfully embarrassing laughs. The storyline is telegraphed so fast it would make Samuel Morse envious, and just keeps getting worse.
Ron Himes’ direction of the St. Louis Actors’ Studio effort is lackluster and overly soft, so that only William Roth’s performance shows a glimmer of the talent the cast surely possesses. Roth alone is able to take his hokey character a bit beyond crude caricature. Where is tough love when you need it?
Rob Demery and Roman James, as a pair of 40-year-old former high school classmates, don’t even look like they’re 30. Rita Washington and Eddie Webb play Uncle Patrick and Aunt Jessie as broadly as they can, although not as broadly as Candice Jackson as the young mother or Chuck Lavazzi as good ol’ whiskey-swillin’, Rebel-lovin’ Gordon MacInnes. Choyce Johnson completes the cast as Cookie, another resident of this curious country place. They’ve all done better work.
The Waiting Room should more appropriately be set in a veterinary clinic, because a horse is being beaten to death on the premises.
Rating: A 2 on a scale of 1-to-5.
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