Behind The Curtain (review)

 Spoilers ahoy!

Reviewing this show is a little bit tricky--and not because I personally know the playwright, director, and most of the cast.

Behind the Curtain is not a play so much as a collection of very short plays (nothing odd in that) connected by a thread of both theme and (kinda/sorta) plot.  This framing device consists of a tour of a given theatre, with a charming volunteer (Lana Ford) talking about theatre in general while awaiting a text over whether she has been cast in this company's latest production.  Interspersed with her stories and comments are scenes--none long, some very short--about theatre in general.

The framing device doesn't really work, simply because it is too generic, and the segues to the individual scenes rarely flow.  Hardly a major flaw, although it does mean the show feels slow at first.  Instead of learning anything about this theatre, this company, all the references are about live theatre in general.  Except when the volunteer talks about herself--that introduces us to her, and she wins out hearts.

A total of twelve scenes or short plays follow, some less than two minutes long, others reaching ten or more.  Honestly every single one feels like an early draft rather than polished piece.  None of them have poor premise, nearly every single one is performed well by a talented cast (including Leah Bass, Joan Kubicek, Jess Weil, Brad C. Carter, Nancy Van Iderstine, Lauren Simon, Robert Michael Grant, Patrick Anthony, and Kevin McKim).  But apart from the fact they simply pop up on stage with almost no segue, pretty much all of them feel like they are missing some beats or some nuances to feel complete.  Which is not, I hasten to add, to say they are poor or mediocre.  But they don't feel finished.

On the other hand--four of them (while still a little unpolished) grabbed my attention and my heart.  Hit The Penny begins as a monologue, seemingly interrupted by an old woman whose identity proves a startling and eventually powerful, moving surprise.  I felt my attention engage and then re-engage several times, without giving away any startling insights which eventually arrive.  

Likewise My Newest Challenge, an almost monologue which frankly could have gone on a lot longer and I wouldn't have minded one bit.  It starts with a senior playwright kvetching about both his writers' block and his writing group's efforts to clear it up.  Hence this monologue, which proves to be exactly what he needed, as we learn a powerful life story.  

They Hate Me charts a personal crisis with a woman who is a very good stage manager, and feels depressed about the fact people hate her for doing that very job.  Her husband and boss both seek to help her work out her feelings, in a way both entertaining and sometimes a little startling. 

There there is Waitress, a poignant portrait of a former child star trying to live with her blue collar job and the scarcity of even extra roles now that she's well into her middle years.  Emotionally, this one grabbed me the most, quietly wrapping its fingers around my heart then not letting go.

My biggest complaint about these four is their length--each could easily fill a half hour or more, maybe even becoming full length.  Imperfect (as everything is) they remain excellent theatre and very much worthwhile.

Behind The Curtain plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm until August 17, 2025 at the Two Roads Theatre 4348 Tujunga Avenue, Studio City 91604.