The Crumple Zone

Ho, ho, ha!

The Crumple Zone

Theatre Review

Searching for anything different or original that doesn’t reek of treacle, isn’t easy during Christmas season. Whether it’s the classic (yet timeworn) The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol or some show containing a medley of yuletide tunes (White Christmas, Blue Christmas, Rudolph the RedNosed¦yada, yada, yada¦), is it asking too much to be entertained by something different that’s framed around the holiday season?

Well, Santa delivered a present early: a ticket to Dramashop’s The Crumple Zone (though sans bow).

Directed by Jasse Camacho Vera, The Crumple Zone by Buddy Thomas tells the story Terry (Zachery Hoffman), a youngish gay guy who can’t land an acting gig, a guy, or a day off from suckling a vodka bottle. During one long Christmas weekend, Terry witnesses or participates in his apartment
mate, Alex’s (Howard Lang) complicated love life. Buck (Brian Bowersox) is wooing Alex, while Alex’s steady partner, Matt (Patrick Vahey, Jr.), is far away, performing in a road company version of Salem’s Lot, The Musical(Laugh now, but someday it’ll happen). When Matt shows up unexpectedly, dramedy ensues, yet booze soothes¦

Hoffman, the centerpiece of the show, gives us a Terry who’s flaky, flighty and flagrantly foul with his language, yet projects the impression of someone who’s deep-down hurting with his own problems. Lang’s Alex, a young, huggable, just-fired mall Santa, has bigger fish to fry: caught in a pink
love triangle, he can’t decide whether to remain faithful or follow his heart with his new love interest, Bowersox’s Buck, whose devil-on-his-shoulder only confuses him more. Vahey as Alex’s faithful half and Nick Warren as Roger, a one-night hookup for Terry, round out a team-player cast that allows
everyone to shine in the limelight.

While two-act play started feeling a little longish near its end–this wasn’t helped by the unexplained half-hour curtain-time delay–Dramashop nonetheless delivered a fun, quirky Christmas-time play without the usual ad nauseum seasonal embellishments.

Talk about a Christmas miracle!

—GG

The Crumple Zone runs through December 18. Dramashop is located at 1001 State Street, Suite 210, Erie. Bruc For more information, visit dramashop.org

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