Gingrich would benefit from another rewrite, incorporating the play's newfound direction into the environment filled with empty, untapped symbols waiting for their day at the track. The three remaining short plays come from first-time directors who have recently completed a directing workshop led by Tony Babin. Ashley Crockett leads her cast through a wonderfully acted production of Loyalties . Mickey Templar and Jariah Walker elevate the script with their powerful performances. Naomi in the Living Room is vintage Christopher Durang, an absurdist family comedy that suffers somewhat from timing problems and misplaced energy.
Bread is the most complete package of the evening.
A minimalist story told over a loaf of bread in an impoverished family kitchen. Jon Smith and Hannah Rockey make miraculously full characters out of tiny bites of dialogue and John Iozzi's directorial debut is a legitimate coup, capturing his audience with nuance and subtlety. An operatic extravaganza sans the extravagance, the Colorado Opera Festival gives a magical production of Mozart s Magic Flute . This week we feature Tom Paine s fictional political story collection of history s losers and this year s winner of the Flannery O Connor Award. 24 Hours and Something Original makes the audience feel the characters' pain too profoundly, suffering with their torturous imprisonment every step of the way.