Review: 'Three Seconds' Makes the Shot

Often the largest applause goes to the littlest theatres. Only "little" may not be the most operative word seeing as half the cast is 6-foot basketball players. Still, the SF Playhouse continues its 4th season with a pleasantly funny and touching West Coast premiere, Three Seconds in the Key by Deb Margolin, brimming with creative word- and sport-play.

An autobiographical tale of Margolin's fight with Hodgkin 's disease, Three Seconds spends a few days in the life of Mother and Child who find solace watching the New York Knicks basketball games on TV together. Things get interesting when Mother finds one of the athletes, The Player, in her living room dishing some tough love. A beautifully-written script, fluidic scenes, and superb performances make Three Seconds a delightful evening.

But this is more than just a "Hallmark story where a sports star visits a woman dying of cancer." No. Margolin's play is – at its core – truly funny. Her arrangement of words and metaphors are superb, flinging hilarious imagery all over the walls: A dead deer as a dancer in the Nutcracker Suite, for example. The wit is not overly-excessive but calls attention to itself in the grandest of ways.And Margolin's story-telling is just as potent during dramatic themes; idiosyncratic, articulate, and honest.

Her words paired with the excellent delivery of Amy Resnick (Mother) are a side-splitting combination. In her opening monologue, Mother explains at great length why she is can't smoke pot...and the perils of having to avoid "holes in the air" and losing her purse among the melons of a grocery store. Coupled with this absurdity is Resnick's (mostly sofa-bound) movement which, in being so natural, may appear to be incredible improv. Her interaction with Gideon Lazarus (Child) is so fine, it almost feels unscripted.

Lazarus is a budding young Bay Area actor who is lucky to be lending his talent to this production. Some of his lines were anxiously rushed during the 8 year-old tirade, ratting off "45 worries and 17 complaints." But the Child's innocence and confusion with his Mother's disease are very real: "If you die, I'll be embarrassed at school." Plus, it's hard for anyone to not be sucker-punched by Lazarus' big brown eyes during his interactions with The Player.

The Player (Paul Oakley Stovall), serves as an almost "spirit guide" for Mother. Stovall is a gentle giant, commanding respect from his fans and team but not without his own flaws. The scenes between Stovall and Resnick are charming and meaningful. Especially enjoyable – because it may be foreign to other plays – is Margolin's pairing of a frail Caucasian woman and strong Black man in gentle scenarios. Later, Stovall and Resnick go head-to-head in an edgy argument where each gets 24 seconds on the clock to rip into one another; quite invigorating to witness.

Leigh Fondakowski (The Laramie Project) fantastically stages the sports scenes, placing Resnick in the middle of the action as a fast-paced 5-man game spins around her, balls flying, arms waving, sneakers squeaking. Skyler Cooper, D. Anthony Harper, Casey Jackson, and Chris Walsh round out the rest of the Knicks. Each is a fine individual actor, but they show strength in numbers, especially during a motivational Gatorade commercial. Additionally they portray various members of a Hodgkin's disease support group. Gender-bending Cooper is impressive with her deft transitions from a "gangsta" teammate to a sure-minded ill mother.

SF Playhouse Artistic Director Bill English designed a modest yet purposeful set. Hard wood floors blend the living room into the basketball court, and a platform behind a black scrim serves as the staging area for the TV commercials. Matt O'Hare composed the invaluable music and sound design, transporting the action of the basketball games into the house...with pumping rhythms, roaring crowds, and invasive buzzers.

Sometimes we can surprise ourselves by making a basket when we've merely thrown the ball recklessly in the air. What led it to the hoop? Luck? Skill? Or a personal strength and confidence we didn't know we had until we hear the refreshing whoosh of the net? Doused in comedy and emotional one-on-ones, Margolin's Three Seconds in the Key serves up a reminder that our own success comes from the power of our will...and laughter truly is the best medicine.

Three Seconds in the Key: by Deb Margolin, directed by Leigh Fondakowski, at the SF Playhouse, San Francisco through February 17, 2007. 1hr 45mins with no intermission. Tickets ($36) are available at 415-677-9596 and www.sfplayhouse.org. The SF Playhouse is located at 533 Sutter Street between Powell and Mason, San Francisco. Photos by Zabrina Tipton.

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