Review: Meanwhile Park is a Vibe with VACATION and RED DEVIL

There’s really no way to accurately describe the experience watching VACATION and RED DEVIL at Meanwhile Park other than that it’s a vibe. 

The intimate backyard setting in Salt Lake City, draped in ivy and lush greenery, provides a cozy space for an exclusive group of audience members to enjoy a summer evening out with a feeling of shared community. Servers come to your seat to take drink orders, with options including themed house cocktails and mocktails with Meanwhile Park-branded umbrellas, and to bring cute snack boxes filled with delicious treats, all included in the ticket price.

Then as the sun sets, you settle back to watch two excellently written and performed short plays that won this year’s Meanwhile Park Playwright Prize.  While different in many ways, VACATION and RED DEVIL are complementary to each other and both cover the gamut of comedy and drama while fitting the space and occasion like a glove.

VACATION, written by Nathan Johnson, is billed as a “spy vs. spy gay romp in the Adirondacks.”  Two husbands find themselves in an unexpected predicament as they each in turn realize how well and how little they know each other. 

The whirlwind pace of the script, peppered with witty retorts and melodramatic accusations, is a delight.  The audience fully enjoys the ride along every twist and turn toward the unexpected conclusion.

The couple is played with panache by Alexis Baigue as Barrett and Dan Beecher as James, guided amusingly by director Jason Bowcutt.

After a relaxing intermission, RED DEVIL by Andrea Berting is presented. A dramedy about love, loss, and intergenerational bonding, it takes place in a hospital chemotherapy room when a young social influencer interrupts the status quo. 

Alternately touching and hilarious, it draws the audience into the minds and hearts of three women who are struggling to make sense of change, endearing themselves despite the relatively short runtime.

With sincere direction from Teresa Sanderson, the actors make their characters feel like real people, including Vicki Pugmire as Rose, Reb Fleming as Val, and Laura Elise Chapman as Emmie.

Tickets are selling out quickly, so don’t hesitate to gift yourself a fresh social and theatrical experience this summer by checking out Meanwhile Park.

VACATION and RED DEVIL play through July 20, 2025.  You must be 21 or older to attend.  For tickets, visit www.meanwhilepark.com.  

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