"Epic Proportions"
by
Published on
Courtesy Lubbock Community Theatre
This past weekend Lubbock Community Theatre premiered their production of Epic Proportions, written by Larry Coen and David Crane. This show is directed by K. Douglas McKennon.
Epic Proportions is funny, really funny. I had worked with McKennon in a play earlier this year, but this was my first time to see a play that he directed, and it was a great time.
The play is set in the 30’s on the set of a big epic movie like Ben Hur or Spartacus. The movie, Exuent Omnes, is being directed by a reclusive visionary named D. W. DeWitt who, for the first half or so of the play we only hear. The part is played by Jay C. Brown and he is so fun. He does an accent that I can’t quite place, but I like it a lot.
For the most part, the action centers around three characters. Two brothers, Benny, played by Garrett Benson, and Phil, played by Trace Warner, get cast as extras in the movie and are overseen by Louise, played by Robin McCulloch. I’ve been in a couple of plays with McCulloch, but this was the first time I’ve seen her in a leading role, and she just owned it. From the moment she came on stage you just want to see what she’s going to do next.
Louise is in charge of the extras on set and Benny falls hard for her. Unfortunately, so does Phil. Things get tense, bad things happen to assistant directors, and Phil somehow finds himself in charge of the whole shebang!
Both Benson and Warner do a great job of portraying that special love that brothers have where they both intensely care for each other, but also deal with trying to one up and compete with one another. Also, they spend an inordinate amount of time with their shirts off and are thus much braver than I am.
I don’t want to go to much more into the plot since I don’t want to ruin if for those of you planning on seeing it (which should be all of you) but it’s hilarious.
There is a bit where Louise is talking to us, the audience, as if we are the large group of extras. She ends up having a couple of people from the audience (not plants, but actual audience members) come up on stage to do a demonstration.
If I had a complaint about the show it would be this: McCulloch literally picked the person next to me to go up, and not me. I’m not bitter, but I am disappointed! (Just to be clear, since humor can be difficult when written out, I’m not actually upset. It was just funny that the girl next to me went up.)
All of the actors in the movie-within-the-play did a great job, but I want to give extra kudos to Emily Healy who played The Queen in the movie. She just stole the show. So funny and over the top (in a good way). There were moments where the whole audience was cracking up when she was just standing there. I can’t explain it better than that.
The set, designed by Roy Mullins, was well done. LCT has recently increased the size of their stage and that extra room really helped so they could spread the different movie sets out.
Another notable aspect were the costumes, designed by Diane Bancroft. Because the play is set in the 30’s but then also has the different time periods covered in the movie-within-the-play, there was a lot to do with the costumes. The gladiator and the Queen’s outfits were especially nice.
Speaking of the gladiators, there were a number of fight scenes within the play. They were choreographed by Jonathan Keys and were super well done. There were a couple of hits I could have sworn hit, but I talked to some of the actors after and, at least at the performance I was at, no actors were hurt.
One of the fight scenes is especially fun because they have to do a number of takes to get the shot right and Benny keeps getting hit. It’s kind of meta and hard to explain, but it’s a lot of fun.
Epic Proportions will run for two more weekends, September 13-15 and 20-22. More information on showtimes and tickets can be found at lubbockcommnunitytheatre.org.
For more arts coverage, be sure to check out 24 Frames and tune in to KTTZ-TV.
Epic Proportions is funny, really funny. I had worked with McKennon in a play earlier this year, but this was my first time to see a play that he directed, and it was a great time.
The play is set in the 30’s on the set of a big epic movie like Ben Hur or Spartacus. The movie, Exuent Omnes, is being directed by a reclusive visionary named D. W. DeWitt who, for the first half or so of the play we only hear. The part is played by Jay C. Brown and he is so fun. He does an accent that I can’t quite place, but I like it a lot.
For the most part, the action centers around three characters. Two brothers, Benny, played by Garrett Benson, and Phil, played by Trace Warner, get cast as extras in the movie and are overseen by Louise, played by Robin McCulloch. I’ve been in a couple of plays with McCulloch, but this was the first time I’ve seen her in a leading role, and she just owned it. From the moment she came on stage you just want to see what she’s going to do next.
Louise is in charge of the extras on set and Benny falls hard for her. Unfortunately, so does Phil. Things get tense, bad things happen to assistant directors, and Phil somehow finds himself in charge of the whole shebang!
Both Benson and Warner do a great job of portraying that special love that brothers have where they both intensely care for each other, but also deal with trying to one up and compete with one another. Also, they spend an inordinate amount of time with their shirts off and are thus much braver than I am.
I don’t want to go to much more into the plot since I don’t want to ruin if for those of you planning on seeing it (which should be all of you) but it’s hilarious.
There is a bit where Louise is talking to us, the audience, as if we are the large group of extras. She ends up having a couple of people from the audience (not plants, but actual audience members) come up on stage to do a demonstration.
If I had a complaint about the show it would be this: McCulloch literally picked the person next to me to go up, and not me. I’m not bitter, but I am disappointed! (Just to be clear, since humor can be difficult when written out, I’m not actually upset. It was just funny that the girl next to me went up.)
All of the actors in the movie-within-the-play did a great job, but I want to give extra kudos to Emily Healy who played The Queen in the movie. She just stole the show. So funny and over the top (in a good way). There were moments where the whole audience was cracking up when she was just standing there. I can’t explain it better than that.
The set, designed by Roy Mullins, was well done. LCT has recently increased the size of their stage and that extra room really helped so they could spread the different movie sets out.
Another notable aspect were the costumes, designed by Diane Bancroft. Because the play is set in the 30’s but then also has the different time periods covered in the movie-within-the-play, there was a lot to do with the costumes. The gladiator and the Queen’s outfits were especially nice.
Speaking of the gladiators, there were a number of fight scenes within the play. They were choreographed by Jonathan Keys and were super well done. There were a couple of hits I could have sworn hit, but I talked to some of the actors after and, at least at the performance I was at, no actors were hurt.
One of the fight scenes is especially fun because they have to do a number of takes to get the shot right and Benny keeps getting hit. It’s kind of meta and hard to explain, but it’s a lot of fun.
Epic Proportions will run for two more weekends, September 13-15 and 20-22. More information on showtimes and tickets can be found at lubbockcommnunitytheatre.org.
For more arts coverage, be sure to check out 24 Frames and tune in to KTTZ-TV.
24 Frames
24 Frames Promo
3:00
Published:
24 Frames: Art.Culture.Life