Review: BETTY'S SUMMER VACATION is 'the Vacation From Hell!' at Bare Bones Theater

Who would've thought serious topics like rape, dismemberment and molestation could be met with humor? All of these horrific acts occur in the hysterically angry Betty's Summer Vacation by Christopher Durang. The play begins with the arrival of Betty and Trudy arriving at their summer timeshare hoping for a relaxing summer. Tranquility soon ends when Betty Realizes that she will be spending her summer with the hyper energetic Trudy who breaks her promise of limiting her talking, Keith, a bi-sexual serial killer who hides body parts in hat boxes, Mrs. Seizmagraff, the landlady of the time share who is also Trudy's mother and is jealous of her own daughter due to her serial molester husband, Buck an extremely horny frat-jock, and Mr. Vanislaw, a flasher. In addition to this dynamic cast of characters is a mysterious laugh track that emits from an unknown source within the time share and serves as the play's Greek chorus.

The Bare Bones Theater Company in Northport, Long Island, put on a fantastic production of this play and it honestly could not have come at a better time. With Betty's Summer Vacation, Christopher Durang takes on the role of moralist and shows us through his words how we as a society are addicted to being entertained and take pleasure in other people's misery. When the play originally premiered in 1999, the play parodied the public's obsession with the O.J. Simpson trial. Now, the play serves as a commentary for the general public's obsession with reality television and the jaw-dropping poop show we called an election.

Artistic Director Lynn Antunovich was very wise in choosing this play to conclude the Bare Bones Theater season. The cast was on-point. Gabrielle Marie was brilliant in her portrayal as Betty. Her delivery of the gut-wrenching monologue at the end of the play was a performance to be remembered. Andrew D'Anneo did a fantastic job as Keith and reminded me of the great character actor Wayne Robson. The show was stolen by two unbelievable performances: Joan St. Onge as Mrs. Seizmagraff and Jason Moreland as Mr. Vanislaw. As soon as Joan St. Onge made her entrance on stage in her Three's Company Mrs. Roper ensemble, you were completely enraptured by her and could not take your eyes off of her whenever she graced the stage. The same could easily be said for Jason Mooreland. Originally, Mooreland was not originally slated to perform that evening; thank God he did. I honestly cannot envision anyone else playing this role. Mooreland was a combination of Lou Costello and a long lost Marx brother and emitted these qualities when performing in the play's charades scene. Mooreland drew the most laughs from the crowd and rightfully so. He is comedy gold. The set design by Tony Caputo was perfect for this play. The intimate setting of the theater made you feel like you were invited into a family's home as a guest and were about to watch family dysfunction unfold. Broadwayworld Award Nominee Steve Clark's sound design for this play was a testament to the nomination he received for The Bare Bones Theater Company production of Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig.

A superb play, a brilliant cast, an electric audience and a fantastic creative team resulted in a surefire hit for The Bare Bones Theater Company. Please check out the Bare Bones Theater Company Website for upcoming productions here: http://www.barebonestheater.com

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