OCC’s One-Acts Are Set for the Millennium

With all the concern and media fretting about the Y2K dangers now staring us in the face, it’s not strange that Orange Coast College’s student-run Repertory Theatre has come up with a program of short original plays on the subject.

In the group’s “Y2K Festival,” five one-act plays approach the millennium with vastly different outlooks and emotions. The diversity is enlightening and entertaining.

The balance of the plays generally approach the subject with a sense of humor. Only one is inclined to be a bit serious, and it is also the most fully realized of the pieces.

It is “Nine Minutes to Midnight,” written and directed by Donna Ham. In both areas, Ham is pretty sure-footed. The writing is cogent, lucid, and her gimmick, though it is not a new one, is intriguing.

A young man named Hank walks into a country bar on a cold night just before midnight on Dec. 31, 1999. He takes off his coat. He’s there, with a completely straight face, to install a Y2K-compliant chip in the jukebox.

There is no jukebox, though, so Hank sits down to have a drink. The bartender, Patsy, is friendly, offsetting the very drunk woman half passed out on the bar. An older man sits alone at a table. Hold on. Patsy begins the countdown to midnight. “Nine, eight . . . . “ Finally, “Happy New . . . .” Blackout.

The door opens again, and Hank comes in and takes off his coat. Hank’s life is not Y2K-compliant, and it starts all over again. A clever idea, well-written and directed and performed flawlessly by a good cast.

Todd Odenath shines with his open honesty as Hank, Maeva Garrett paints a rich mini-portrait of the roughhewn bartender, Bill Burke has a nice ominous edge as the older man, and Sherrie Stone is strong as the drunken lady.

Less pertinent but pretty amusing is George Rothman’s “Serial Keiler Strikes Again!,” which he also directs. Jeremy, played with a nice comedy feel by Joseph Allgaier, is famous. He is interviewed by the media and by the chief justice of the United States (a marvelously pompous Gary B. Finesilver), among others. His claim to fame? He does away with people who talk and make noise in movie and legitimate theaters. Funny idea, but the play doesn’t really go anywhere.

“There’s Nothing New Under the Sun,” written and directed by Sherrie Stone, is also amusing but also doesn’t go anywhere. It concerns a medieval family with matriarch Elizabeth (Stone), daughter Catherine (a brassy Krissy Shaw), a cipher of a father (Walt Spurgiasz) and a hip son (Jonathan Mariott), coping with the problem of Y1K.

It’s well-acted and boasts a couple of good lines (“I don’t know what’s going to get us first, the antichrist or the Vikings.”)

The fourth piece, written by Chris Buechler and directed by Finesilver, is a one-joke affair that takes too long to get to its punch line. “Comings and Goings” has to do with young Aaron (Paul Williams), whose best friend, Liz (Michelle Bylenga), and ex-lover Mark (Mariott) are upset because Liz’s boyfriend suddenly finds himself attracted to Aaron. The actors don’t seem to believe in what they’re doing, and their lack of commitment defeats the whole piece.

Because of illness, one of the plays was not on view at Sunday’s matinee, Audrey Olsen’s “Nobody Likes Me.”

*

Y2K Festival, Drama Lab Studio Theatre, Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends Sunday. $5-$6. (714) 432-5640. Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Walt Spurgiasz: Henry

Sherrie Stone: Elizabeth/Barbara Walters/J.J.

Jonathan Mariott: James/Mark

Krissy Shaw: Catherine

Joseph Allgaier: Jeremy

Gary Finesilver: Chief Justice of U.S.

Todd Odenath: Hank

Maeva Garrett: Patsy

Bill Burke: Clem

Paul Williams: Aaron

Michelle Bylenga: Liz

Mark Hunt: Tim

An Orange Coast College Repertory Theatre production of original short plays by Sherrie Stone, George Rothman, Audrey Olsen, Donna Ham and Chris Buechler. Directed by Sherrie Stone with Walt Spurgiasz, George Rothman, Jose Soto, Donna Ham and Gary B. Finesilver. Lighting design: Steve Mathis. Stage managers: Raine Hambly, Krissy Shaw and Kevin Connors.