The Cypress Chronicle

Last Updated:3:03 PM PST 10/24/08 Section: Opinion

If you are looking for great, unstoppable laughter, don't miss the West Coast Premiere of the backstage comedy "Don't Talk to the Actors" by Tom Dudzick, at the Laguna Playhouse.

Tom Dudzick is a box office record breaking comedic playwright who has gain fame through his semi-autobiographical works known as the "Over the Tavern Trilogy". Now, his latest autobiographical play is about a playwright writing--wouldn't you know it--an autobiographical play.




This thoroughly entertaining and hilarious play is good old fashioned story-telling--something rather hard to find in live theater these days.

Imagine a play which is not an eighteenth-century retelling of a worn out Shakespeare tale as a western.

"Don't Talk to the Actors" is a straight-forward linear narrative, not a jumbled up contrivance of out of sequence scenes (compare "Sight Unseen", by Donald Margulies).




It is not based on ridiculous contrivances or deep dark symbolism that confuses the plot, rather than illuminates it (compare "End game", by Samuel Beckett).

And, imagine a play which is not based on a whimsical Children's book or songs from a 1970's pop group!

Now, make no mistake, I totally like ""Mama Mia", but a fresh, illustrative, literary narrative is a welcomed exception from what seems to be the general rule in live theater today. Plus, if you add a group of nicely played believable characters, the result is a play you don't want to miss. This play probably will not go down in history as the year's deepest and most probing literary work, but it is plenty of fun and it will leave you laughing as you walk to your car.




"Don't Talk to the Actors" is a must see for anyone considering a career in theater. This applies to writers, directors, actors, and stage managers. The play gives an only slightly over-the-top look at the process of putting up a new play on Broadway. The title refers to the live theater rule that playwrights speak only to God and the director, never directly to the actors. You can expect the consequences of violating this rule to generate some fun and laughs.

"Don't Talk to the Actors" had its World Premiere in September 2007 at Buffalo's Studio Arena Theatre. "Don't Talk to the Actors" plays September 9 - October 12, 2008 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach, (949) 497 2787. The Laguna Playhouse offers special half price tickets for students, teachers and military with ID on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday Evenings / Saturday Matinees.

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