The best part of The Magical Marriage Computer and Other Plays, was what the audience experienced before the play even began! Upon entering the theatre, one’s ear was massaged by the feel-good music of Blythe Crawford on the ukulele and Willie Gammell on the guitar. Together, known as The Galt Line, their musical styles range from Western Swing to Gypsy Jazz. Visually, the audience was also intrigued before the show because of the enormous computer prop in the center of the stage. But what really made the audience dizzy was Sue Struve in the role as the “Computer” seated in the center of the console rotating non-stop in a circle as if on the spin cycle in a washing machine!
Despite the forced and prosaic dialog by playwright Brett Steven Abelman, the creative props and a few peppy performances kept the show from being all washed up. The premise behind the first play, The Magical Marriage Computer was that it had a program that would compute one’s compatibility for a successful marriage. If you received a score of anything less than 100%, it meant that your marriage would eventually end in disaster.
Continuing with the disaster theme is the short play, Moon Damage about two divorcees Ryne (Sue Struve) and Rory (Jim Epstein) who try to sort out some of their differences while waiting for the meteor to hit the moon. But the play that really seemed to be out there in outer space was Breakfast with Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp (Rachel Manteuffel in a painted on mustache and goatee) finds himself in trouble after unknowingly taking home an underage girl from a club.
Instead of the 6 lackluster plays presented, I would have preferred one well-written play that included a good plot, interesting characters, and believable dialog.
Please note that the above 3-Star Rating includes an extra star for Blythe and Willie’s excellent pre-show performance.
Running time: 85 minutes.
The Magical Marriage Computer and Other Plays information and tickets.
