By NICK ROGERS
A&E EDITOR
STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

Playing grown-up
Parts of this production put the ‘f’ back in Springfield
 

Thursday, July 06, 2006

REVIEWS/REVIEWS

Theatrical titles that get people talking are a time-tested measurement of stage success.

But with "Danger - Adult Content," some callers to the Hoogland Center for the Arts - where A.D.H.D. Productions' compilation of 10 short plays will debut Friday - were a bit perplexed.

"People had been asking 'What is it going to be? Is it funny? Is it naked people onstage?'" says Jason Goodreau, co-founder of A.D.H.D. and "Danger's" director and co-star. "The title comes across as strong, and the content is not nearly as 'bad' as it could come across."

Thus, a newly added subtitle to dash nude-theater thoughts: "A Comedy Show For Grown-Ups."

"And it means that if you come to this you'll laugh - hopefully," Goodreau adds.

True to its mission of producing newer or lesser-known shows, A.D.H.D. has compiled an offbeat selection for this show.

Its roster has riffs on relationships (David Ives' "Sure Thing"; Josh James' "Parade of the Nice Guys" and "Women Rule!"), sly winks at profane playwrights (Ives' "Speed-the-Play"), surreal situations (Christopher Durang's "Naomi in the Living Room") and heart to go along with humor (Mark Kennealy's "A Fork in the Bridge"; Anthony Pennino's "Howard Hopped the A-Train").

"Each has an aspect that's similar to the other, so there's a flow," says Mac Warren, co-founder of A.D.H.D. and a "Danger" co-star. "It's been an opportunity for us to perform some fun stuff."

Years ago, Goodreau produced a show called "Short Attention Span Theater Project" for Phoenix Theatrical Productions, an intermediate children's-theater series he created.

"In doing the reading to put that together, I came across all this great material that kids can't do but would be great for adults," Goodreau says.

The key for "Danger," though, he says, was not the material, but finding the right cast to do it.

"I didn't want people who thought the idea sounded interesting, but people who thought it would be a great, great thing," Goodreau says.

Warren and Goodreau were the only stars of the initial A.D.H.D. production, "Rounding Third," whose spare set of a bench is replicated in "Howard Hopped the A-Train," also starring the duo.

The goal this time was to highlight several actors, and the cast includes Hillary Gorrell, Jeff Nevins, Carrie Risdon, Patrick Russell, Grace Smith and Mary Young.

"The biggest glory of this cast is how versatile they are," Warren says.

Young, whom Goodreau describes as "a hilarious lady who comes off as being very dry," saw "Danger" as a way to return to the "basement-theater" shows she used to do with local director Michael Savage in the lobby of the former Springfield Theatre Centre.

"We did things that had made it to off-off Broadway," says Young, who spoke Durang's dialogue there as she will here in "Naomi." "I felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with that great material. Doing this is very exciting, and I don't think I took a breath before saying, 'Yes.'"

Everyone in the ensemble brought show selections to the table, and 10 made the final cut from what Warren says were about 20 to 30 suggestions. Goodreau says if "Danger" is well received, there could be a second installment down the road.

Last summer, Goodreau and Warren, hoping to do David Mamet's profanity-riddled "Glengarry Glen Ross" under the A.D.H.D. banner, joked about "putting the 'f' back in Springfield."

Playing off Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow," "Speed-the-Play" crams a handful of Mamet's shows into a several-minute montage, much of it punctuated by Mamet's favorite curse word. It's repeated in most of the rest of the plays, albeit not, Warren says, for swearing's sake.

"It might take a small amount of time to adjust to the language, but they'll hear the music, hear the flow, and it won't be anything after a period of time," Warren says. "After a few moments, the language becomes acceptable because it's appropriate for the piece."

"It's great to do something that's so big, so bold and so edgy," Young says. "Half the fun for some of these (plays) is taking them as far as you can go. But at the same time, to a certain extent, they're real. I've had dates like that, or I wish I'd had a date like that. As strange or oddball as some of these may be, there's a certain amount of reality."

Nick Rogers can be reached at 747-9587 or nick.rogers@sj-r.com.

Danger - Adult Content: A Comedy Show for Grown-Ups

Presented by A.D.H.D. Productions

·  When: 8:59 p.m. Friday and Saturday

·  Where: Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St.

·  Tickets: $10; available by calling 523-2787 or visiting the center’s box office. A cash bar will be available. The show contains strong language and adult themes.

"Dedicated to the advancement of innovative arts and arts education"

ADHD Productions, 2005