Wisconsin born Jacob Janssen went out of state to get advanced degrees in theater and had a busy career on the East Coast directing, producing and facilitating young playwrights. He decided to chuck all this and bought a house in Door County and lives there with his wife – who works remotely for a social agency in Washington, D.C. – and their young son, with another child on the way.
Jazz by a combo bustles along as background sound. On stage are invitations to explore. White parallel bands at an angle on the floor cross over brown parallel bands at a right angle to the eye. At the rear, white parallel bands seem to step their way up the backdrop, with the top band angling off. At the very top are wooden ceiling beams. Or so it seems. The beams are part of the magic of artistic perspective. The eye looks and looks and looks until what seems like a room of sorts is finally deciphered: Something flat is 3-D.
I’m not sure whether Third Avenue PlayWorks’ (TAP) production of The Book Club Play has convinced me that I need to join a book club or avoid them at all costs. What I am sure of, though, is that The Book Club Play is a must-see for lovers of books.
The catalyst for adventure in live professional theater: An international true-life documentary filmmaker is recording meetings of a book club. That sounds innocuous. But soon excitable folks are letting fly warts and all. “This book club is like ‘Lord of the Flies’ with wine and dip,” one fellow observes. Opinions clash, personalities crash and friendships tumble.
Showy acting. That’s on the menu of “Slow Food,” a major tease of fine dining gone kaflooey. The joke is… just about everything. The fun is… watching kaflooeyness unfold through expert acting and directing.
