[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Theatre West’s Pointy Scissors, written and directed by Clara Rodriguez, running November 7 – December 7.
Pointy Scissors was developed as a part of Theatre West’s writers lab and seems to me to be a wonderful celebration of all they do.
Funny, quirky, extremely human characters experiencing drama and obstacles and making the most of them together.
Betty owns and operates a hair salon. She is helped by her older brother Arnie, who is sweet natured, hilarious and clearly on the spectrum. Betty comes to open up one morning and finds Arnie already there. After some chit chat, Betty notices a spot of blood on the floor. Arnie confesses to having seen a customer earlier for a mullet trim and accidentally cutting him with their new and very ‘pointy’ scissors.
The rest of the play is a delightful loop of hilarity, drama and existential chaos as these fascinating characters’ lives intertwine, unravel and careen in beautiful, funny and highly entertaining ways.
Each of these strange and wonderful people orbits Betty’s stoic centre as she navigates murder, body disposal, a sister’s untimely attention, a potential romance and a surprisingly animated corpse.
This is a beautifully written play. Funny, sweet, heartwarmingly weird and full of fabulous performances and brilliant one-liners. It’s a perfect opportunity for some really excellent actors to play characters with vivid and monumental aplomb.
Every single performance was highly entertaining and mesmerising. I love big loud people, and this play is full of them. But they are never playing for the laughs, just for the story and that is why they work so well. The laughs exist because they are so real, so flawed and so effortlessly human. That’s really good writing.
I’m not sure if this is Clara Rodriguez’s first full-length play, so I can only imagine how far she has to ascend as an artist based on this wonderful show.
Pointy Scissors is an absolutely brilliant play. A non-stop brilliantly drawn window into a group of disparate characters as they struggle with themselves, each other and a particularly clever and enthralling story.
I absolutely loved it and I highly recommend that you grab your tickets fast!!!
Where:
Theatre West
333 Cahuenga Blvd W, Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, CA 90068
When:
November 7-December 7
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pointy-scissors-tickets-1749160107969
Pointy Scissors Team
Angela Bruning – Betty, Steve Young – Arnie, Richie Storrs – Sammy, Danielle Weeks – Deborah, Anibal Silveyra – Carlos, Monika Vidakovic – Molly, Lea Roman – Understudy
Produced by Bonnie Kalisher-Dukes.
****
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