On a cold and wet weekend when we could have been quietly reading the Sunday papers and napping, we instead drove through I-5 and SR 167 crazy drivers to Renton. We saw the play “See Alice Run” at the Renton Civic Theatre, not because we wanted to, but because a friend had a part in it.
Our regional theaters have been turning out excellent actors for years. We recognize numerous faces and quite often remember their names, but we also have two friends who perform on stage regularly and we try to catch them as often as we can. Last fall Tim Hoban performed his one-man show as Edgar Allan Poe at the Lakewood Playhouse, which we’ve seen half a dozen times, including once in our living room for a private performance. Now, Scott C. Brown is back in town from a year abroad. We traveled to Enumclaw to see him as the monster in “Frankenstein.” We traveled to Olympia to see him perform with Ann Flannigan in “The Last Schwartz.” We also traveled to Lakewood to see him in “A Few Good Men,” so traveling to Renton didn’t seem too far out of the way.
We met Scott at the Berliner Pub for lunch. He drove nearly five thousand miles all around Europe with his partner and now they are back in the Pacific Northwest. In June he will be doing an off-the-shelf production at Tacoma Little Theatre and is currently doing voice/over work and video editing. We talked and laughed for a good forty-five minutes before Scott’s ride, Wendy Enden stopped in to pick him up. They had five minutes before they had to report to the theater for costumes and make-up. The pub was only four blocks from the theater, but the weather was far from pleasant.
“See Alice Run” by Annie Pie – “A West Coast Debut – Brothers Randy and Sherman couldn’t be more opposite. Randy (John Tembreull) is gay and flamboyant, while Sherman (Scott C. Brown) is up-tight, and sees life in black and white. Their Aunt Becky’s (played by Carrie Sleeper-Bowers) mental lapses and multiple personalities have caused them to find safer arrangements for her. Randy realizes that he and Sherman are the last of their line. One of them MUST have a child to carry on the family name. Randy is physically unable; so, he coerces Sherman into fulfilling this duty. However, Sherman has a rare physical abnormality and he will require chemical assistance. Enter Alice Perkins (Wendy Enden). She wants a baby, and the brothers need one. The result is hilarious chaos!”
Most of the action was between the two brothers with good by-play and funny lines. The scenes with Sherman and Alice were sweet . . . and funny. Think “Marty” as a comedy. Aunt Becky had funny Hollywood film quotations, but the Jewish accent just didn’t work for me. All the actors had extensive credits and the set was excellent and nicely lit. In 2012 we had seen “Pumpboys and the Dinettes” there and enjoyed it (we do like that musical very much). Maybe we won’t wait another six years to see another performance. Keep your eye out for Scott C. Brown. He always does a nice job! Look for him next in Pierce County.
