‘Power Plays’ for River House Sunday Salon

On Sunday, June 10th, River House will present Natasha Williams’ production of “Power Plays” directed by Ed Desiato. The company comes here from Lexington, Kentucky where they played last week to rave reviews.

The usual Salon format will change to accommodate the two one-act plays. The bar opens at 4:00 PM with complimentary hors d’oeuvre. Supper will be served at 5:00 PM, and dessert during intermission following the first play.

These short plays harness the genius minds of famed actor/directors Elaine May and Alan Arkin with their 1998 collaboration. Both established comedic icons since the 50s and 60s, the pair have written the piece in a style that preserves classically humorous situations, all the while slipping eccentric comical subtleties to the audience that give the play a lot of contemporary spice. Nothing is as it seems in this unusual piece of “theatre of the mind.” Supposed roles of power in society are challenged as more a matter of perception than of reality.

“The Way of All Fish”, is about a bizarre office exchange between a business executive and her meek secretary, and the darkly absurd “Virtual Reality”, is a comical glimpse into the seedy lives of two men pantomiming an illegal warehouse transaction. Both one-acts are farcical examinations of the reversal of power in two seemingly opposite worlds of business culture. Director Ed Desiato points out that “the humor is found in presentation; an eyebrow arched, a twitch, a look, but never over the top.”

The New York Times describes the piece as having “that same heady sense of discovery, of seeing prototypical situations being twisted and spun to the point of dizziness” and the CurtainUp review calls it “a gem of nuanced interaction.”
Gayle Winston saw the original production in New York when “The Way of All Fish” starred Elaine May with her daughter and “Virtual Reality” starred Alan Arkin with his son.

Though the show is written with two male and two female characters, Desiato directs Ryan Case and Shayne Brakefield, both busy names in the Lexington theatre scene, in all roles. For reservations, please call 336-982-2109.

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