'Love & Imagination' by Theatre Fairfield - A Review

FAIRFIELD, CT (virtually) - The production team of Theatre Fairfield invited me to their new artistic home as the resident theatre company at the Quick Center at Fairfield University for their opening production. The opening night performance of LOVE & IMAGINATION was Theatre Fairfield’s first ever virtual production.

LOVE & IMAGINATION is a compilation of five short comedies by David Ives and six very contemporary monologues by Barrie Cole. The live-streamed production is about “the chance encounter, the perfect moment, the right word, the time when everything aligns and goes right, or not. It’s about the fleeting chances we have to get it right.” The company has combined the pieces for one strangely cohesive evening of theatre.

David Ives is an American author who has written smart comedies like SURE THING, TIME FLIES, and PHILIP GLASS BUYS A LOAF OF BREAD. Barrie Cole is a Chicago-based playwright/performer who has created a series of “one-sided telephone conversations” greatly inspired by our lives in the year 2020. The short monologues are shuffled between the longer one-act comedies by Mr. Ives, making for a fast-paced 90-minutes.

Actor Abby Ligas opened the show with Ms. Cole’s DREAM REPORT, a monologue about, well, a contemporary dream. SURE THING featured Tracy Ferguson and Jay Martins as a young couple meeting in a cafe. In this work, lines were frequently interrupted with the ringing of a bell, which signaled for the actors to repeat them to yield a different response.

Ms. Cole’s monologue IN LOVE was well-performed by Lillie Kortrey against a most interesting background. This short piece was followed by Mr. Ives’ VARIATIONS ON THE DEATH OF TROTSKY, an unusual work that was easier to understand and smile at by reading the digiturgy. Park Lytle made me laugh in the title role, while Abby Ligas returned in the role of his wife and Jay Martins became “Ramon.”

Kiersten Bjork took on the monologue NOVEL IRIS, a contemporary play on words by Ms. Cole. This was followed by Mr. Ives’ ENGLISH MADE SIMPLE, a cute “meet cute” that featured Lillie Kortrey as Jill and Park Lytle as Jack, with Kiersten Bjork as a voice on the loudspeaker. Then Grace Kavulich performed OMG BFF, full of emojis and shorthand speak.

PHILIP GLASS BUYS A LOAF OF BREAD was an intricate, almost sung-through performance piece set at a bakery counter. Park Lytle appeared as Philip Glass, Taylor Soyland was the baker, with Lillie Kortrey as the baker’s vocals. Kiersten Bjork and Tracy Ferguson quick-changed and sang as women in the bakery. Jay Martins then performed I SAW YOU, a Zoom-meeting inspired monologue by Ms. Cole.

My favorite piece of the evening was TIME FLIES by Mr. Ives, set in the evening at a pond. I loved the mayfly costumes (designed by Julie Leavitt} and the whimsical background, as well as the comedic performances of Kiersten Bjork as May the mayfly and Jay Martins as Horace. Park Lytle was a riot as David Attenborough on television and there were puppets! The evening ended with the monologue REVERSE GOSSIP.

Jan Mason directed all of the pieces and Michael Ciavaglia served as the musical director. Lynne Porter did a great job as the scenic designer

This show is being performed live and is a one-time only viewing for ticket holders; the production values were a bit rough at times, but somehow this added to the theme of the evening. Kudos to the technical director Anne Kendall. Patrons are reminded that they must not turn on their video or microphone at any time during the performance or they will be a part of the show.

If you “attend,” be sure to carefully read the email sent with the link, and especially the attachment which explains how to most enjoy the performance. Trust me. While the show starts at 8:00 PM, the production team encourages you to login 10 minutes early to make sure everything is working. The show runs about 95 minutes, without intermission. I wasn’t able to unmute soon enough to applaud the performers at the virtual curtain call, so this review will have to suffice. I did enjoy listening to the chat after the performance ended.

The electronic playbill is available at the Theatre Fairfield website, www.theatre-fairfield.org under the tab LOVE & IMAGINATION PLAYBILL. There is also more information about the show on the website, including Meet the Cast and Digiturgy--background information about the play. I found that reading the digiturgy was helpful in understanding the longer pieces.

Performances continue on Saturday, October 24, 8:00 PM and Sunday, October 25, 1:00 PM. All tickets are sold at the Quick Center Box Office; $10 General Admission and $5 for All Students Get Your Tickets HERE

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.