September 23, 2005

THE ONE-EYED CAT AND OTHER TALES OF NEED -- This tidy, engaging little collection of one-acts from Danger Boy Productions comes courtesy of writer Rob Biesenbach and director Rob Chambers, Second City guys both. Like Biesenbach's scripts, the acting is occasionally workmanlike but admirably honest and unmannered. Jack McCabe and Spencer Wawak, the oldest and youngest in the ensemble, fare best in scenes driven by generational conflict, while Jonathan Beran and Cameron Jappe are most adept with lighter, Durang-meets-Python stuff. There's a faint familiarity to all the scenarios, but only The Ledge, a two-suicides-meet-cute bit, feels completely played out. And as directed by Chambers, Jappe and Catherina Kusch make even that one go down easy -- so to speak. -- Brian Nemtusak

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