Moxie Theatre’s “Butcher”: Dark, Funny and Utterly Dysfunctional
\nPor Patricia Morris Buckley<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Butcher of Baraboo\u201d is probably the perfect comedy for these bleak times. It\u2019s funny. It\u2019s dark. But as a murder mystery, it doesn\u2019t amount to much. In fact, it\u2019s the nutritional equivalent of a dark chocolate ice cream sundae: Delicious to eat, but not that satisfying in the long run \u2014 and not very good for you either.<\/p>\n
I have to admit there were a few times that I laughed so hard that I almost cried. Lines about squirrel bombs (real squirrels) and blood on breakfast cereal (probably not real blood, but funny nonetheless) were outrageous and shocking \u2014 an enjoyable combination. The problem is that the play never resolves the mystery or any of the character issues. It\u2019s as if playwright Marisa Wegrzyn glibly wrote a ton of great punchlines, then tried to piece them together in a story. In the end, we just aren\u2019t that invested in \u201cwho done it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Butcher of Baraboo\u201d tells the story of an extended family dealing with the disappearance of Frank. Frank\u2019s wife, Valerie, is a butcher and the town thinks she chopped him up and hid the pieces. Even Valerie\u2019s adult daughter, Midge, isn\u2019t that sure. Of course, Midge can\u2019t exactly call her mother\u2019s kettle black because she\u2019s a pharmacist who deals at the local junior high. Plus, at 32, she\u2019s still living at home.<\/p>\n
Officer Gail is Frank\u2019s sister and she believes that Valerie is probably guilty. Plus, she\u2019s pretty sure her husband is cheating on her, which leads to a very funny suicide scene (now that\u2019s dark humor). Frank\u2019s brother, Donal, and his young, chipper wife Sevenly, have moved in next door to Valerie and there\u2019s something not quite right with them either.<\/p>\n
This family isn\u2019t just dysfunctional, it\u2019s certifiable and possibly criminal. What makes them interesting isn\u2019t just their funny quips, but the actors playing them. Linda Libby plays Valerie with a heavy hand, but keeps the character from being too much of a heavy. Her job is to keep us guessing about the real mystery, which is where the play ultimately fails us.<\/p>\n
Wendy Waddell and DeAnna Driscoll manage to steal the show. Waddell\u2019s Midge is dark, twisted and proud of it. Her deadpan stare is hysterical. Driscoll\u2019s manic Gail, who talks to her gun and boasts the only real Minnesotan accent, is \u2014 well, there is no other word for it \u2014 a hoot.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Eve Thorn\u2019s Sevenly is a slow revelation as the goodie-two-shoes character finally reaches the end of her rope and proves that she belongs in this loony tunes family. The only weak link is Don Evans as Donal. While he can handle a punchline, Evans\u2019 stilted line readings are awkward and unbelievable. Or maybe it\u2019s just that he\u2019s playing a stereotypical Christian, which can only be used for so many laughs.<\/p>\n
Kudos to Amy Chini and Esther Emery for the flexible set of an entryway, kitchen and hallway, all complete with homey touches (i.e. fridge magnets, family pictures and a 20-year-old toaster oven). We\u2019re even treated to the smell of coffee being made. Jennifer Brawn Gittings’ costumes are more of a success on some characters than others, as her choices tend to be a bit obvious.<\/p>\n
Co-directors Chelsea Whitmore and Delicia Turner Sonnenburg do a great job of putting up smoke screens so that we don\u2019t see the play is a fragile house of cards. As long as we focus of the hilarious lines and quirky dark characters, we can\u2019t help have a great time with the show. It\u2019s delicious, if not satisfying in the long run, and even more fun than a ice cream sundae.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Butcher of Baraboo\u201d
\nWhen: Through June 28; showtimes, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays
\nWhere: Moxie Theatre at Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd., San Diego
\nTickets: $15-$25
\nInfo: (858) 598-7620
\nWeb: www.moxietheatre.com<\/p>\n
Patricia Morris Buckley has been reviewing the arts in San Diego for 25 years.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moxie Theatre’s “Butcher”: Dark, Funny and Utterly Dysfunctional By Patricia Morris Buckley \u201cThe Butcher of Baraboo\u201d is probably the perfect comedy for these bleak times. It\u2019s funny. It\u2019s dark. But as a murder mystery, it doesn\u2019t amount to much. In fact, it\u2019s the nutritional equivalent of a dark chocolate ice cream sundae: Delicious to eat, […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":242672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Moxie Theatre's \"Butcher\": Dark, Funny and Utterly Dysfunctional","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11551,11593,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-news","category-no-images","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}