Great Expectations

Whenever a play I'm acting in is ending, especially an enjoyable one, I think about a quote from the Mary Tyler Moore show, something about how when a pig flies, you don't complain that it's a bit wobbly and crash lands. You think, 'Wow, a pig has flown."

The sentiment perfectly fits "Expecting Isabel," the snappy, energetic play (with its outstanding cast), which concluded it four-week run last night at the Bus Barn Stage Company in Los Altos.

The play concerned a New Yawk couple, Nick and Miranda, and their various and sundry attempts to have a child, whether through insemination or adoption. As with the rest of the six-member ensemble, I played a number of characters: Nick's slovenly Italian brother, a jock, a junkie, a sanitation worker, a surly Denny's waiter, Miranda's priggish boss, a doctor and one-half of a gay couple trying to adopt.

Due the large number of scene changes and costumes, backstage was well-organized chaos (as well-organized as chaos can be, anyway). I had a "cheat sheet" to help me schedule my 11 costume changes and various furniture moving. By the end, we were all acting as a well-oiled machine (as I predicted during our final dress rehearsal), which was good -- because the lead actress fractured her wrist before the final weekend.

Despite everything, the run was surprisingly smooth. One fun exception: Last night, during the final scene of Nick's crazy Italian family, my "sister" (Marilet Martinez) and I accidentally dropped a sandwich. I didn't notice it immediately (she had to nudge me because, being "pregnant," she couldn't pick it up herself) and the scene had to pause while the five of us on stage reacted to the fall, all in perfect character. Since my character was a bit of a goof, I picked up the sandwich and slapped it back on her plate. The audience, which of course had noticed the slip, laughed in appreciation. Nick (Tom Gough) then improved a line about how what genetics is telling us is that we all "make mistakes." Indeed. A perfect ending to a wonderful experience.

The show is likely to be my last in the San Francisco Bay Area. I had a good run -- Malvolio in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," a Neil Simon comedy, a Chekhov tragicomedy, a Steve Martin comedy "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" by the writer of "Driving Miss Daisy," and a tender new play from San Francisco playwright Ian Walker, "A Beautiful Home for the Incurable." Most were fun and received good reviews (A Beautiful Home, Ballyhoo and Picasso), with the notable exception of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard," which was called "the pits."

My biggest fear about Adams County, Pennsylvania will be that it will lack this diverse theatre scene, filled with wonderful folks like my new friend Dickleweed -- ahem, Marilet -- and the rest of my second Italian family.

Photos I took of rehearsals

Until next time: Keep the faith, fight the power and rave on.