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Regional Reviews: St. Louis The Trivia Job
It's set in a church fellowship hall and (in this case) staged there too, as four women plot to rob a bank by casually coming and going during a charity trivia night (trivia nights are a big deal in these parts). And through an amazing combination of elegant writing and true and charming characterization, the whole thing becomes more and more engrossing, in a surprisingly fast-paced two hours and fifteen minutes. It's a world premiere by writer Dan Rubin, and directed by the highly respected Anna Pileggi, with the audience as participants in the trivia night. The jokes are just right, the characters are very clear about what they want, and how they're going to get it. But things still manage to fall to pieces every fifteen minutes, just like they should in any good caper story. Ben Nordstrom is the slightly goofy priest who comes in at the last minute to take over the trivia night. And looking back at his recent roles, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this one seems perfect for him—he's genuine, but insistent on throwing in a dash of Bible study whenever possible, with a little Douglas Adams in on the side. As Father Calvin, he has a pretty fair amount of earnest, funny, fast-paced interaction with the audience at their trivia tables, too, which helps to make the show so hopelessly endearing. Maxine (Donna Weinsting) is the brains behind the bank heist, with plans to save the church in spite of the young pastor's clumsy, charming interference. And her mastery of detail elevates the whole thing to grand proportions, like a comical version of Goldfinger and the looting of Fort Knox. Only, instead of airplanes loaded with deadly "Delta-Nine" nerve gas, it's a couple of bags of ferrets. There's something almost mystical about Maxine's unshakable confidence, a sort of Zen, or "God-will-provide" self-assurance about all her secret preparations that's also a little bit scary. Especially since she must depend on a gang of nice (modern) churchwomen to make everything work. And they're just not the usual criminal types. I could easily see a show like this becoming a new favorite of theater groups who actually perform in churches, with the script's breezy friendliness and occasional bracing bursts of passion. Michelle Hand finds, and makes beautiful, that thread of yearning as a woman struggling to have a baby, almost as a sort of escape from an unwanted identity. And harried Ann Marie Mohr is wicked-funny sneaking back in from various stages of the bank job with one strange injury after another, when she's not busy trying to stop Julia Zasso, as her daughter, from throwing away her whole life. As Trish, Ms. Zasso seems to be in an internal tug of war, struggling with an unrequited romance with the young pastor. And that's not even the way her mother thinks she's totally ruining her life. But everyone gets a beautiful monolog or two. You'll see, there're probably at least three or four layers of drama elegantly laid one upon another here. And it's funny. And, as a writer, I'm insanely jealous. Through November 9, 2013, at the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis, 1919 South Broadway (a block north of Russell in Soulard). For more information visit www.onsitetheatre.org. Cast * Denotes member, Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States Crew
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