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Regional Reviews: Phoenix The Minutes Also see Gil's review of Waitress
The Minutes begins as the members of the city council gather to discuss routine matters at their weekly meeting. Tensions quickly rise when the council's newest member, Mr. Peel, who has just returned after missing the prior week's meeting to attend his mother's funeral, discovers that the previous week's meeting minutes aren't ready to be reviewed and voted on, and that one of the board members has, strangely, resigned. As the meeting progresses and as he pushes for answers, Peel learns that a significant vote was held in his absence. Seemingly mundane issues soon give way to darker, more unsettling revelations, forcing the characters to confront uncomfortable truths about their town and themselves. Letts masterfully builds suspense and intrigue, keeping the audience engaged until the final, jaw-dropping moments. The characters he has created are as diverse as they are memorable–anyone who has ever attended a local council meeting (or perhaps a meeting of their homeowner's association) will feel the authenticity in the interplay between the characters as they navigate bureaucracy, personal interests, and the darker implications of their decisions. While, at first, Letts presents a comical view of a mundane city council meeting and its quirky board members, his play is ultimately a probing study into people's beliefs. He presents a very scary and deeply troubling view that mirrors current politics, where some people prefer to focus on fiction and lies and turn away from facts and reality as their way to survive and hold on to their past and their beliefs. Letts has also humorously crafted the last names of many of the characters to perfectly tell you the type of individual they are: Mr. Peel, the man who missed the previous meeting, is peeling back the polished fictional exterior of the town; Mayor Superba believes he's superior to everyone; and Mr. Assalone is basically an asshole. Under Louis Farber's crisp direction, the actors shine with performances that are a perfect blend of realism and biting comedy, playing out beautifully on Tianna Torrilhon-Wood's realistic set design. As Mr. Peel, the relatively new council member who serves as the audience's entry point into the story, Tony Latham is the perfect embodiment of the "every man" archetype. Peel's questions slowly unravel deeper issues, and Latham's body language and expressions perfectly evoke his outsider perspective and inquisitive nature. As the questions that Peel asks slowly unravel the town's deeper issues, Latham's body language and expressions perfectly evoke his outsider perspective and inquisitive nature. This contrasts sharply with the more seasoned and argumentative council members, including Ron May as Mayor Superba, the authoritative figurehead who projects an air of calm control but is clearly hiding something beneath his polished exterior, and Rob Stuart as Mr. Assalone and Johnny Kalita as Mr. Breeding. May, Stuart, and Kalita are perfect as these three men who believe themselves above it all and that their views are always correct. Good work is also done by the rest of the cast, including Tim Shawver and Tanner J. Conley as two warm but somewhat self-serving members of the board, David Weiss and Katie Mcfadzen as the two oldest members on the board who either speak a lot but say very little or find their memory failing, and Michelle Luz as the overly self-medicated woman who is often confused. Kate Haas is warm and cheery as the board secretary and Chris Mascarelli is excellent as the member who has resigned; his monologue is intense, chilling and gripping. Considering that many moments in the play are simply the characters sitting at desks speaking, Farber's staging is impressive, including a reenactment of a famous historical moment from the past that is hilarious. Farber handles the shifts from humor to drama seamlessly, with each revelation hitting harder as the play progresses. Farber's direction also allows the cast to shine, with crisp portrayals of these folksy, argumentative and often bumbling or by-the-book characters, offering a mix of humor and tension with each actor bringing their character's quirks to the table. The subtle noises in Brianna Fallon's sound design and the abrupt shifts in tone in Stacey Walston's lighting add to the tension in the play. Letts' script is full of wit and biting commentary on power, tradition, and how history is remembered or even rewritten. The Minutes is a gripping and thought-provoking play that blends political satire with intense drama. With a cast more than capable of handling the play's complex characters, and impressive creative elements, Stray Cat's production provides a compelling look at the way communities deal with their pasts and the lengths they'll go to in order to protect their legacies. The Minutes, a Stray Cat Theatre production, runs through October 12, 2024, at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe AZ. For tickets and information, please call 480-227-1766 or visit straycattheatre.org. Director: Louis Farber Cast: |
