[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of The Group Rep’s world premiere of Can’t Live Without ‘Em, written by Lee Redmond, directed by Mareli Mitchel-Shields and produced by Brent Beerman.
You can always expect to have a good time at The Group Rep (GRT). The plays are interesting, funny, highly inventive and always rooted deeply in the human condition. In all, it’s many weirdly wonderful incarnations.
Can’t Live Without ‘Em is an absolutely hilarious comedy about a man in a coma, his wife, his ex-wife and his pregnant lover. The man, Thomas, is a writer and an adorable philanderer, if those exist anymore, and we find him prostrate and unconscious after a stroke. His mind, however, is very lucid and takes on physical form for the purposes of our amusement. Thomas is played to perfection by the sublimely talented and sweetly charismatic Bert Emmett, interloping as the spirit of Thomas, bound to the room in which his almost lifeless carcass lies.
He has visitors though, a ditzy slightly inappropriate nurse, all the women in his life, and a ridiculous doctor on the play for a book deal from the current Mrs Axelrod who is Thomas’s publisher. As the women in his life unravel every piece of his, he is forced to play silent witness to the retelling of his many indiscretions, at least only the audience can hear him. These wonderful, vivid and beautifully written characters take us on a tour of his life, his career and his relationships with them all. And as we get to know them, we can see Thomas through their eyes and understand a little why they each love him so much, despite his character flaws.
It’s a lovely play, developed at the Group Rep’s playwrights lab and writer Lee Redmond should be thrilled with its reception by the audience. The sadness of the story is tempered by the wry humor and the truly wonderful performances.
I have always given the instruction that should anything happen to me, keep me plugged in, please! The idea that while unconscious we can hear everything and everyone around us seems terrifying, but for Thomas, it was in the end an enormous comfort and for us a barrel of laughs!
I absolutely loved this funny, heartbreaking play. On so many levels it connected with the audience and the promises of story and resolution and love all paid off bounteously.
Can’t Live Without ‘Em is a brilliantly written wonderfully staged play. The performances are particularly memorable and nuanced and I went home laughing and thoughtful, and a bit misty…what more could you ask in a play?
When:
April 11 – May 12
Thursdays and Sundays at 7pm; Saturdays at 4pm
Where:
Group Rep Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., NoHo Arts District, CA 91601
Ticket:
https://thegrouprep.com/show/cant-live-without-em
The Cast
Can’t Live Without ‘Em features the talents of Bert Emmett (Thomas Axelrod), Paul Anthony Kelly (Dr. Payne), Jessica Kent (Tammy), Holly Seidcheck (US Chrissy White) Cynthia Payo (Maureen Axelrod), Danny Salay (US Dr. Payne), Daisy Staedler (Sharon Axelrod) and Jasmine Strong (Chrissy White).
The Creative Team
Set Design Mitchel-Shields/Redmond, Lighting Design Frank McKown, Graphic Design Doug Haverty, Assistant Director Casey Murray, Stage Manager/AD, Publicity Nora Feldman, Online Marketing Kristin Stancato, Social Media Denise Downer and Jackie Shearn, Promotional Video and Photography Doug Engalla, and produced for the Group Rep by Brent Beerman.