Pasta Fazool's 'Parachute' halfheartedly deploys
It's a family affair for Pasta Fazool Players, a new theater company making its Northwest suburban debut in Des Plaines with Laura Toffenetti's new comedy "Without a Parachute."
Just scan the program to see how many different hats are worn by family members in the company.
Steve Pringle, Toffenetti's husband, directs "Without a Parachute" and also appears in the show in the small part of cabin owner Mr. Hansen. Pringle is also a co-producer with resident playwright Toffenetti, who is also credited as the show's set designer.
Pringle's grown Los Angeles-based sons, Jed Reynolds and Dan Pringle, also act in the production and work behind the scenes. Reynolds is another co-producer, while Dan also handles the show's lighting and sound design.
With all that family enterprise going on, it would be great to report that "Without a Parachute" was a success. But all the comic and dramatic elements don't fully add up to a truly satisfying play or performance.
"Without a Parachute" gets off to a shaky start as the distraught divorcee Cory Saygart (Joanne Dubach) makes a shadowy entrance to a skeletally rendered Minnesota vacation cabin. Cory grouchily mumbles to herself before she pulls out a handgun from her purse to commit suicide (This sequence lasts far too long, and Dubach fails to show the inner turmoil of a person in the moments leading up to such a desperate act).
Cory is stopped by the sudden appearance of Phil (Dan Pringle), whom we quickly deduce is Cory's quirky childhood imaginary friend all grown up. Faster than you can say "Drop Dead Fred" (the critically drubbed 1991 film comedy about a grown woman who is confronted by her former imaginary friend), Phil starts pulling strings to help the rudderless Cory cope with her marriage breakdown and to find a new will to live.
But not before complications ensue when more company arrives in the form of Cory's ex-husband, Simon (Jed Reynolds), and his ditsy second wife, Nancy (Monica Szaflik). It turns out that the newlyweds have skipped their intended Hawaii honeymoon and instead come to Minnesota at the exact same time as Cory. (Or do they)?
There's a lot of farcical potential in this "what if" situation of an imaginary friend helping Cory to play tricks on her rival for her ex-husband's affections. But Toffenetti largely squanders it by making Phil a decent guy instead of a major annoyance to Cory and to those who cannot see him. Dan Pringle also seems to miss the role's inbred zaniness, particularly when Phil fleetingly comes on to Cory, now that he's an adult, too.
Toffenetti humanizes Nancy (despite Szaflik's amusing squeaky bimbo voice) and the cheating Simon (an extremely energetic and playful Reynolds) in an attempt to make things more complex instead of black and white. But in doing so, Toffenetti just makes "Without a Parachute" more mild-mannered and bland when it could have been punched up with some enjoyable schadenfreude and slapstick humor amid the reflective message that the fault often lies with both parties in a relationship breakup.
Oh yes, Cory's gun does climactically go off in the second act (as most introduced guns in plays tend to do). But that potentially chilling moment is also lessened because Toffenetti reveals her hand too early by distinguishing between characters in Cory's head and the ones who are truly real.
The actors assembled by director Pringle are fine, but not outstanding. Reynolds is the most enjoyable actor to watch, while Szaflik has fun playing the prissy and high-maintenance other woman.
In the central role of Cory, Dubach needs to show more range in being emotionally stuck and "without a parachute" of a stable relationship to guide her through life. The seeds of a great performance are there, but they don't fully blossom to fruition.
Pasta Fazool Players' "Without a Parachute" might have resonated a bit more in a space smaller than Stage One's slightly ramshackle former Masonic Temple stage. But at the very least, Pasta Fazool Players does encouragingly embody the adage of "the family that plays together, stays together."
<p class="factboxheadblack">"Without a Parachute"</p> <p class="News">Two stars (out of four)</p> <p class="News"><b>Location:</b> Pasta Fazool Players at Stage One Theatre, 620 Lee St., Des Plaines</p> <p class="News"><b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, 2 p.m. Saturdays; through Aug. 16</p> <p class="News"><b>Running time: </b>nearly two hours with intermission</p> <p class="News"><b>Tickets:</b> $21.50</p> <p class="News"><b>Parking: </b>street parking and nearby pay garage</p> <p class="News"><b>Box office:</b> (800) 838-3006 or <a href="http://pastafazoolplayers.com" target="new">pastafazoolplayers.com</a></p> <p class="News"><b>Rating:</b> some profanity and issues of adultery </p>