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Dan Ruth

#CaseyAndTommyGetHitched in Well-Rendered Strong Ensemble Production

Updated: Jun 6


two men holding each other
 

Thursday, May 30th, Los Angeles, CA

written by Entertainment Editor, Dan Ruth

 

Weddings seem to always bring out the worst in old friends, and alcohol can exacerbate such behavior, fueling fiery opinions, buried jealousies, petty grudges and the like. Such is the case in #CaseyAndTommyGetHitched produced by Loft Ensemble, currently playing at Sawyer’s Playhouse in NoHo. Weddings have also been the subject of many plays, musicals, films and television episodes, with tendencies that often set the subject teetering on the verge of soap opera. Moreover, you would think that the genre has been done to death and perhaps it has been, but with #CaseyAndTommyGetHitched there are more than a few refreshing and surprising twists, keeping this fantastic ensemble production well above the norm.


#CaseyAndTommyGetHitched is set in a quiet, small and comfortably worn Pennsylvania hotel lobby of questionable taste. As the characters begin to filter in, we have much of the information we need to formulate not only the relationship between them but our opinions of them as well. Silas Jean-Rox sets the tone as the front desk concierge, and as they flip the “closed” sign to “open” we’re off to the races. The five other main characters that make up the ensemble begin to filter in and as one would expect, they are stock, no doubt, but it’s the relationships between them that rattle the drama. Like many well-written plays, no character or moment is wasted, and any stone left unturned, is done so with purpose.

 

We discover that Adrian (Abram Conner)*** is Tommy’s former love interest and after meeting the overly exuberant Liz (Sarah Nilsen) and the highly nuanced Kendra (Dani True), we see that there is much history amongst the threesome. Suddenly, a fourth character enters. Do they know each other? Is this the “Casey” that no one has met? Turns out to be yet another friend, Viv (Amye Partain) who masterfully cuts straight through the energy, and straight through center stage like a knife through butter. Viv has joined the group late, but the seed has been sewn and the underlying specter of the as-yet-unseen “Casey” begins to dominate the conversation. Through several personal and detailed scenes and some wonderfully rendered dialogue, the friends grapple with where their lives have taken them and the disappointments of life and career, all of which can be summed up in one sentence by Kendra who admits, “none of us know what we’re doing.”

 

When we finally meet Tommy, beautifully underplayed by Sean Alan Mazur, a drunken game of “Kings” takes us to the heart of this gathering, pitting one against the other in a more biting game of all-out tug of war. After they have all met Casey and it’s clear that she is a woman, Liz demands that the wedding be called off because Tommy, in her eyes, is living a lie. This also opens the story and gives Adrian one final chance to win Tommy back before the wedding the following day. With more mayhem to follow, to give any more away would be doing this production an injustice, as it deserves to be experienced. Ultimately, #CaseyAndTommyGetHitched is a funny and intelligent story with a stellar cast that doesn’t break the pace for a moment. Madylin Sweeten Durrie’s set design and Lemon Baardsen’s sound design also serve the play exceedingly well. There’s even an elevator on stage, which proves hilarious on more than one occasion. In closing, #CaseyAndTommyGetHitched manages to answer or rather, reiterate, another truism: when people don’t act the way you expect them to, or the way that you think they should, that might be a sign to mind your own business and just be happy for them.

 

***Adrian was played by swing, Abram Conner the evening the show was reviewed. The roll is currently being played by Ignacio Navarro.


#CaseyAndTommyGetHitched, written by Molly Wagner, directed by Natasha Renae Potts and Madylin Sweeten Durrie.  Plays through June 9th. To reserve tickets, please visit Loft Ensemble Tickets. #CaseyAndTommyGetHitched is a pay-what-you-can production.

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