"Blind Man's Bluff" by Matthew David (author of several other plays 
by Matthew David that you personally didn't bother to come see because 
you were watching "Friends") is the latest offering from the 
Rapscallions of the Periphery, an independent theatre company whose 
name sounds really cool, but if you actually looked up what the words 
mean, it would probably make no sense whatsoever.  Anywho, BMB is 
running now through April 1st at "Playhouse 1402", which is cleverly 
located at 1402 West Uiversity Ave, and I'm pleased to report that 
the play has in abundance the two most important elements necessary 
for quality theatre.  Specifically:

1.  Good-looking women.
2.  In their underwear.

Directed by Nicole Dickson (who, according to the cast, has a 
directing style similar to some of the greats, such as Otto 
Preminger, Herman Goering, and Genghis Khan), BMB is a one-act play 
about a couple named Sean and Susan (though Susan usually goes by 
her nickname Suki), who get involved in a lengthy conversation about 
life, love, emotional issues, and Chinese food that may or may not 
show up.  I won't say any more, because that would give away all the 
secrets of the plot (Like the fact that the chick is actually a 
guy.....or maybe that was 'The Crying Game').

Actually, there's not much of a plot per se; it's more just the two 
people talking the whole time, and the history and issues that unfold 
during the conversation.  The set is very small and intimate, about 
the size of an average living room, and the audience is placed all 
around it, giving the feeling that you are right there with the 
characters, listening to their conversation.  Quite voyueristic.

This play is different from a lot of others, in that it doesn't start 
off slow, then build to an emotional climax at the end.  There are 
emotional high points mixed with lulls throughout the entire 
90-minute show, and the ending falls somewhere in the middle of that 
scale.  This left me feeling a little off-kilter at the end, simply 
because I wasn't used to it.  But when you think about it, that 
actually helps make the play more real....the highs and lows just 
come when they come.

And speaking of highs, the first one comes relatively early in the 
play, when Suki starts playing a game of semi-reverse strip poker with 
Sean.  Sean, who is feeling less than enthusiastic about having 
sexual relations with the very attractive, very aroused Suki (which, 
in clinical terms, makes him "an idiot"), gets to make Suki, now clad 
only in her underwear, put clothes ON every time he wins a hand.  
(Tip: Audience members vocally rooting for Sean to lose is actively 
discouraged.)  Eventually, Sean ends up in HIS underwear (and quite 
frankly, showing men live on stage in their underwear is totally 
inappropriate and offensive and should rightfully be banned), while 
Suki regretfully ends up putting on more clothes than a nun at an Eskimo 
Pie convention. (No, I don't know what that means either, but it 
sounded good when I was writing it.)  Later on, during the pivotal 
laundry scene, Suki again creates high-quality theatre by taking her 
shirt off.  There were probably some other, more emotion-related 
climaxes during the play, but I forget what they were.

Probably one of the most interesting aspects of this particular 
production is the fact that there are two separate and very distinct 
casts.  According to director Nicole Dickson, Jessica Arnold and 
Andrew Toutain make up the primary, or "self-important" cast; while 
Melissa Nolen and Greg Kroll comprise the understudy, or "whiny about 
how they're actually better" cast.  Having seen both casts in action, 
I can tell you that it's almost like watching two different shows.  
Jessica and Andrew play it very serious and emotionally heavy, while 
Melissa and Greg come off as more playful and sarcastic with each 
other.  But when they get down to the weighty emotional parts of the 
play, both casts do an excellent job.  I think I was more affected by 
Jessica and Andrew's performance, but a lot of that could be because 
I saw them first, so by the time I saw Melissa and Greg I already 
knew what was going to happen.  On the other hand, I liked 
Melissa's choice of black underwear over Jessica's more traditional 
white. All in all, both of these casts are wonderful, and either one 
will give you an excellent show.  And though they were both great, 
I'd have to say I slightly preferred one over the other.....

And now for a HUMOROUS COMMUNITY-THEATRE ANECDOTE:
Per the rules of professional theatre technical workers unions, 
anyone not in the union who works on a play is required to make at 
least one major screw-up per night.  Saturday night's was nothing 
short of comical.  I will describe it here in a play format for 
maximum dramatic effect:

Suki: "Hey, that's the doorbell.  It must be the guy delivering the 
Chinese food that figures prominently in our upcoming dialogue.  I'll 
go get it."

Nicole (in audience, thinking to herself):  "Oh dear God, somebody 
forgot to set the Chinese food offstage.  I wonder if anyone would 
notice if I ran screaming backstage......on the other hand, those two 
have given me so much grief lately...... so screw 'em...hahahahahaa!!!!"

Suki:  "Um, Sean, I don't seem to have any money to give the CHINESE 
FOOD DELIVERY PERSON WHO IS AT THIS VERY MOMENT STANDING 
OFFSTAGE WITH THE CHINESE FOOD THAT FIGURES VERY 
PROMINENTLY IN THE PLAY AND WHICH I AM ABOUT TO 
GO OFFSTAGE AND PICK UP FROM THE CHINESE FOOD DELIVERY PERSON
BECAUSE THEY HAVE A VERY STRICT POLICY ABOUT NOT LEAVING
CHINESE FOOD IN THE FIREPLACE.  I REPEAT, THERE IS *NO* CHINESE
FOOD IN THE FIREPLACE.  THEREFORE, I WILL NOW TAKE THIS MONEY 
AND GO GET THE CHINESE FOOD FROM THE ACTUAL PERSON WHO HAD
BETTER BE STANDING OFFSTAGE TO HAND ME THE DAMN CHINESE
FOOD.  IN FACT, BEFORE I GO GET THE CHINESE FOOD WHICH IS DEFINITELY
*NOT* IN THE FIREPLACE, I THINK WE SHOULD SING '99 BOTTLES OF BEER
ON THE WALL'....."

Sean:  "Huh?"

Suki:  "I SAID SING, DAMMITT!!!!!!"

Nicole's husband Pat:  "Hey, Suki, here's an empty bag with Soy Sauce 
and a plastic fork in it.  Why don't you use that?"

Suki:  "Someone is so going to die for this....."

Pat (helpfully):  "That's right......BE the Chinese food."

Nicole:  *goes catatonic*

Me:  "Less chat, more underwear!"



So, basically, there's a lot to like about this play, and there were 
only a few minor things I had problems with.  There was a good deal 
of profanity, which didn't bother me, except that I felt like about 
half of it didn't necessarily need to be there.  There was one very 
clever use of the F-word, but I didn't feel like it enhanced the 
characters any to have them cursing like sailors at an Eskimo Pie 
convention (or whatever).  There were a couple spots where the play 
seemed to drag a bit, but I think that was mostly a consequence of 
the frequent emotional highs and lows.  There were never any points 
where I got truly bored.  And the layout of the set itself is both 
good and bad: good in the sense that it creates that very intimate 
feeling of being right there with the characters, but bad in that, 
depending on where you sit, you may wind up looking directly at the 
back of someone's head when they're speaking an important piece of 
dialogue.  Despite that, though, I think Nicole Dickson made a good 
choice in the set design.

And I have to put in just a word about the "photo gallery" on the 
other side of the set.  Wow.  Are those some great pictures, or what? 
I know if I were an attractive woman, I'd find out who that 
photographer was and make highly overt sexual advances toward 
him......

To sum it all up, this production is the very essence of what 
independent theatre is about.  I definitely recommend it if you're 
the type of person who can appreciate this sort of thing.  Make no 
mistake; this is not some shiny, happy musical; and if that's your 
idea of what theatre is, this show may not be for you. (Tip: If you 
have ever uttered the phrase, "Hey, let's go see that new Adam 
Sandler movie," this play is probably WAY too advanced for you.)
This is up-close, in-your-face drama that's very well acted.  Some 
critics might say this play is nothing more than an excuse to show 
sexy women in their underwear; to those critics I say, "Yes, and?"


-john