‘Newport Lights’ shine

Tom Titus

There’s jumbo shrimp on the menu at the Newport Theater Arts Center,

along with frog and carp, and a little merlot to wash it all down.

Actually, those items are borrowed from the titles of four of the

nine one-act plays which comprise “Newport Lights,” a special program

of comedic one-acts playing through Sunday under the auspices of the

Orange County Playwrights Alliance.

The program opens with “Waiting for Merlot” by Christopher Trela

-- who started a similar playwriting group called New Voices in Costa

Mesa a few years ago. As might be expected, it’s a modern takeoff on

Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” only this time the two offbeat

gentlemen (Stu Eriksen and Brian Page) have a pair of wine glasses,

but no wine. Penelope VanHorne directs the sprightly comedy.

“Channeling Glenn Miller” by Jordan R. Young is up next, under

Andrew McCarty’s direction. It’s a brief encounter in a music shop as

a clerk (Brenda Parks) tries to sell a customer (Mitchell Nunn) a

trombone once used by Glenn Miller -- but probably not the legendary

bandleader.

One of the evening’s best offerings is “Hey, Hey, Feng Shui” by

Neil Jakks, which offers a real kicker of a twist as Donald Kindle

awaits the interview that’ll nail him his dream government job. A

stunning saleswoman (Della Lisi) seems like the frosting on a very

appealing cake -- but remember that twist. Tommie Tinker also appears

under Caprice Spencer Rothe’s direction.

“Family Newspaper” is a classic case of miscommunication as Dad

(Brian Page), Mom (Marcia Bonnitz) and Junior (Michael Hirsch) each

peruse a section of the paper and none of the three really catches on

to what the other two are saying. McCarty directs John Lane’s clever

piece.

Another knee-slapper is Mary Fengar Gail’s “Jumbo Shrimp,” in

which a widow and the spirit of her late husband (Parks and Nunn

again) extol the virtues of a little guy who wanted to be tall -- and

made it, with a vengeance. Directed by VanHorne, it leaves the

audience on a high note at intermission.

“Single Green Frog” by Eleanor Brook sends the evening into

comical fantasy as the title character (Kindle) seeks a kiss from a

princess to restore his manhood. The only possible candidate is

Valley girl Valerie Appel, and their interaction is hysterical. Rothe

directs this little gem.

Robots seemingly out of an old “Twilight Zone” episode inhabit

“And So It Starts. Again” by Gene Fiskin with Rothe again directing.

Eriksen, Nunn and Andrea La Vela perform mind-numbing tasks with no

end in sight, since the controlling humans apparently have long since

vanished.

A pair of real losers (Tinker and Bonnitz) occupy a workplace

lunchroom in “Worker’s Carp” and have some great fun with Eric

Eberwein’s hardly working-class characters. VanHorne directs the

farcical piece, which contains some surprising bite.

Eriksen is “Waiting” in a hotel lobby in the finale by John Bolen

as desk clerk Kindle attempts to dislodge him from a sofa. The age

differences underscore the gentle comedy in this playlet directed by

McCarty.

Normally, the Orange County Playwrights Alliance calls Fullerton

home, but the group is in Newport for this one-week gig, through

Sunday.

The playlets conclude today and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2

p.m. at the Newport Theater Arts Center, 2715 Cliff Drive, Newport

Beach. Call (714) 962-7686 for more information on the creative

company.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.