Fringe: Gamers

Taking its cue from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter G. Meyer and Brian Bielawski's Gamers, which just ended its run at the Fringe Fest, is a smart, funny and sweet little comedy about the fantasies that encroach onto our dull realities. By day, Steve is just another drone in a tech company, providing computer assistance to idiots who believe the CD-ROM drive is a coffee-cup holder. But by night, he is a fearless warrior in an online role-playing game not unlike "World of Warcraft," with thousands of other players around the world depending on his leadership skills. The play, in real time, follows one hour in his life in which he plays his game while at work, putting his professional and personal relationships in jeopardy.

Presented as a one-man play in which co-playwright and star Bielawski lets us see and hear Steve's side of various conversations, the show doesn't mock gamers so much as it salutes them. Steve's personal and professional lives are a mess, but online, he is an undisputed hero, recognized and lauded for his abilities. No one could blame him for wanting to escape his thankless reality, and the play nicely balances the excitement of his cyber-life with the frustrations of his real one. The comedy comes from watching him juggle his various roles and responsibilities. The drama comes from the real and fantastical threats to all of his worlds as they collide. Somehow, by the midway point, we begin to actually care about whether Steve's army will have any luck storming the castle, and Bielawski's over-caffeinated intensity makes the virtual battle seem like a matter of life and death.

Wes Grantom's direction keeps the comedy smartly paced, keeping the absurdism to a minimum and simply focuses on the all-too-recognizable humor of the situations. Steve is an Everyman of the most tragic sort, unwilling and unable to move beyond his fantasies and apply the same leadership skills he shows in his game to his life. His emotional journey over the course of one hour, then, is what makes Gamers more than a one-joke show. For all the laughter and geekery, there is true heart here, and Gamers is a lovely little coming-of-age story.

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