by Christian
October 8, 2009
Amusing adventure with BST's "Tales From the Dork Side"
Brian Wild’s 2007 play Dork Side of the Moon was one of my favorite plays of that year and is among my favorite Broom Street Theater productions of all time, so I was pleased that Broom Street’s '09 season included a sequel written and directed by Wild. Tales from the Dork Side, which runs through Halloween weekend, takes the three erstwhile lunar adventurers — creative but easily frazzled Scott, jocular Corey, and level-headed Raven — on a supernatural expedition in a mysterious mansion.
The first act was an enjoyable mix of Gothic fiction and farcical elements, featuring a will reading, a hidden treasure, a spooky attic, hidden passageways, and a collection of eccentric characters. Among the latter was a pair of sublimely creepy twins played by Shaun Petts and Gabe Swimm that provided a very amusing running gag. The second act brings back the science fiction element in a significant way and, after an expository interlude similar to the one in Moon, moves into more of a crisis mode, with pursuits by nightmare figures, a “Little Girl Lost”-style disappearance, and a crowd-pleasing fight. Like the first play, Tales features selections from classic film scores between scenes and acknowledged and unacknowledged Star Trek quotations.
Dork Side of the Moon was a rousing adventure and tribute to classic space operas and Tales from the Dork Side has a different sort of energy. It’s a satisfying and often funny story that held my attention and got a lot out of its source genre, but it doesn’t have the kind of thrills its predecessor had. Tales does have more of a personal focus, however, with respect to Scott and his connection to his family. The family aspect receives a thorough going-over in the climactic scene of the second act, which is one of the few times when I started feeling the play’s nearly three-hour running time.
The percentage of returning actors for the major Earthling characters wasn’t as high as it was for Wild’s Tales For A Millenium sequel, but Broom Street regular Matt Kenyon with Melissa Graham and Anthony McKenzie made a sound trio. If you’re a fan of Dork Side of the Moon you’ll probably want to skip reading the program until intermission: that’s what I did and I was rewarded by the end of the first act with one of the most entertaining surprises I’ve had when watching a play.
Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, 1119 Williamson Street.
