by Mar°a B. Del R°o
Daily Lobo
Grubb Graebner's play, "A Couple of Psychopaths Sitting Around Waiting for the Drugs to Kick In," directed by Miguel Martinez, is one large dose of a dysfunctional family.
Add the drugs to that and you got yourself a big psychotic mess.
Wayne, played by Vic Browder, can't remember if he committed a murder. With his psychotic friend Jimmy, played by Malcolm Sharbutt, Wayne decides to figure it all out while taking drugs. Jimmy, who can easily be mistaken for a relative of David Parker Ray's, slips into drug induced, visions. He's not the type of person one could depend on for figuring the culprit of a murder.
Jimmy has a tendency to go ape crazy when he talks about violent acts. The lighting effects for Jimmy's hallucinations portray what a delusional world would be like.
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Tracy, played by Leslee Filusch, is introduced by one of Jimmy's hallucinations as Marilyn Monroe. Tracy turns out to be real, serving drinks and drugs.
She comes fresh from plastic surgery done by her husband and escapes her painful housewife role by slipping into a Marilyn Monroe front. Filusch portrays the disillusioned housewife using a Marilyn Monroe facade so well the audience actually believes in her characters.
The star of the play is Browder. Frighteningly, Browder's performance comes across as completely genuine. You almost feel his agony oozing from his pores as he tries to figure out what kind of mess he's gotten himself into.
In the second act we meet Tracy's sexually precocious daughters, Alex and Rose, played by Sarah Simons and Tristana Gonzalez. Alex carries a whip and is not afraid to use it and Rose has a camera fetish. She is one to look out for toward the end.
Alex too has a few tricks up her sleeve. The play takes a twist when the supposed perpetrators of the supposed crime become the victims of this whip-wielding and camera-holding duo.
Sounds like your typical happy family, right?
"A Couple of Psychopaths" showcases talent by all of the characters. They give a dazzling performance under stimulating sound and lighting effects. The living room setup makes the play appear as though these series of events can occur in any neighborhood. Although the dark comedy genre used in movies such as "Pulp Fiction" is overused, the characters provide a fresh approach to live performance pieces.
Martinez takes you into a world of psychopaths where violence is comical. The play will leave you wondering why you are laughing at such gruesome acts, making you just as psychotic as the characters.
If that's Martinez's intent, he accomplishes it well. This play is not for the faint of heart since it makes light of violence such as rape, but it makes for a nice play to take well, your sadistic neighbor to.
Things to look out for -- Spongebob Squarepants boxers and a black leather whip. Ouch.
"A Couple of Psychopaths Sitting Around Waiting for the Drugs to Kick In," will show at the Vortex Theatre Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through March 29.
