Review: HYPOCRITE: A SKETCHY COMEDY is Generous and Visionary Theatre

Created by Melissa Flower and members of Basic 6, HYPOCRITE: A SKETCHY COMEDY is a theatrical project born of blood, sweat, and tears. It's a comedy, a tragedy, and a sensitive take on life.

There isn't a plot, necessarily, but many personal stories from the lives of the creators and actors weave together to create a visionary experience. The production includes many comprehensive life situations: a man humbly tells the story of his alcoholism, a woman clings to her crumbling marriage as she comes to terms with her unplanned pregnancy, and a young widow shows what it feels like to endure in spite of heartbreak and loss.

Watching the show is like looking into different mirrors, recognizing yourself in the reflection of other people's stories. Even if you've never gone through the circumstances of the actors, the emotions are familiar and universal.

This is an ensemble project in every aspect, and the biographical stories, the scene constructs, and the acting have a strong focal point with an airtight sense of human connection. It's a piece of breakthrough theatre that transcends sketch comedy to a place of self-actualization. A chameleon of a show, HYPOCRITE: A SKETCHY COMEDY transforms mood and emotional depth for each scene and story. The show is anything but one-note, with it's fair share of comedy balancing emotional content laid bare. Melissa Flower and Alexandra Gonzales team up to direct this show with discerning eyes and a good sense of emotional dynamics. Lindsay Ehrhardt, Melissa Flower, Andrew J. Love, and Thomas Ward give achingly honest performances as people who slip in and out of self revelation and varying levels of emotional consciousness.

With it's organic, yet whimsical style, this theatre project is hauntingly steeped in allegory and metaphor. Thomas Ward plays a talk show host who pulls the rug out from under his guests when he turns from congenial host to a sociopathic bully, demanding people to admit to perceived failings and weaknesses. His character clearly represents our own inner critics and the mental anguish we put ourselves through. His barbed questions are fascinating in their blatancy, but it's the reaction from the other characters that is revelatory. The transitions between scenes are interesting and novel, with actors periodically appearing onstage with black and white composition books, reading fable-like stories that are stirring metaphors for the contemporary challenges we all face. These short scenes work as interesting bookends for the more interactive, emotional scenes.

Many of the stories are moving and brutally beautiful in their honesty. The cast is rock solid and committed, giving due diligence to each story and character. Melissa Flower gives a performance of complete vulnerability as she envelopes herself in the pain and fragility of lost love. Which leads to the question...what is real? What really happened? Is Melissa Flower a widow in real-life? Does Lindsay Erhardt really have O.C.D.? Was Andrew J. Love really divorced from an actress who was more successful than he? And is Thomas Ward really an alcoholic who tripped over his baby's bassinet in a drunken stupor? The answers may be slippery, but the production is genuine and authentic.

HYPOCRITE: A SKETCHY COMEDY is a unique, emotional theatre experience. The show runs from June 17 to June 27 at Obsidian Art Space and each performance is (incredibly) pay-what-you-can.

For tickets: http://www.obsidiantheater.org/

Photo Credits: Christine Weems

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