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The420Guy
Guest
When the cast of Pot Mom, the latest play to be produced by downtown
theater City Stage, got together for an initial script read-through, they
had a hard time containing their hilarity. "We sat in this room and read it
(and) we peed our pants," said director Jon Stafford. "But then, when you
get into it more, it's definitely about some heavy stuff."
By "heavy stuff" Mr. Stafford's not talking about the quality doobage the
play's characters partake of, he's talking about meaningful life
situations. It's just that the people involved in those situations happen
to smoke a whole, whole lot of pot.
But believe it or not, Pot Mom - which opens tonight and was written by Los
Angeles playwright Justin Tanner, who also penned Zombie Attack!, perhaps
City Stage's biggest nonmusical hit - isn't just a bunch of weed jokes and
stoner references. While there is some of that, the play bears little
resemblance to movies by dope-inspired duo Cheech and Chong or cult flicks
such as Half-Baked, and it certainly doesn't come off as pro-marijuana.
"I don't think it's really about pot so much," said Nina Repeta, who plays
Patty, the pot mom in question. "It's more about the relationships."
Patty lives in the suburban wasteland of lower-middle-class California with
her boyfriend of nine months, truck-driving dope dealer Richard (Kevin
Scanlon), and her three squabbling kids, approximate ages 18-21. There's
the petulant Troy (Robert Rogan), who's always baiting Richard, and
hatefully competitive sisters Lisa (Nicole Milliken) and Lorraine (Jennah
McKay), who sling barbs at each other and anyone else who happens to be in
the room.
Patty's hanger-on friend Michelle (Barbara Weetman), who owns a candle
store "in the crappy part of the mall," is a constant presence in the
hopped-up household, where pothead bandmates Gene (Jake Steel) and Nick
(Michael Cassano) occasionally drop in to score grass off Richard.
When Richard, sick of his stash being pinched by Patty's kids, puts a lock
on his greenhouse/supply room, tensions escalate. Throw in an illicit
romance (you'll have to guess between whom) and Lorraine's social climbing
- - she brings snooty friends Carla (Amanda Richardson) and Danielle (Heather
Kroel) over to meet her drug-addled family in one hilarious scene - and
you've got a play without an incredibly strong plot but with well-drawn
characters and some biting social commentary.
"I think a (large percentage) of America is this group of people," said Mr.
Stafford, who, along with Ms. Weetman, saw the play during its opening run
in Los Angeles at the tiny Cast Theater in 1994.
Essentially, Pot Mom is about how the spaced-out, unemployed Patty, a not
badly intentioned woman, has unwittingly helped to mess up the lives of
everyone who loves her by refusing to deal with anything. Conflicts simmer
all around her, until, inevitably, they boil over simultaneously.
"Patty's a really nice person," said Mr. Rogan, who's playing Patty's son
Troy. "But she's a pretty bad mom."
Pot Mom has been produced sitcom-style before, at the Steppenwolf Theatre
in Chicago in 1998 (it's easy to see how the play could be interpreted as
Married with Children . . . on Dope!), but it was a production that missed
the mark, according to its author. "They thought I was a sun-soaked surfer
guy, and they had surfer music on the soundtrack," Mr. Tanner told The Los
Angeles Times. "The reviews said it was like a sitcom without jokes."
There are plenty of jokes in Pot Mom, of course; they just aren't the most
important thing.
As with any play, the characters and their relationships are the key to
drama and, for the most part, Mr. Tanner's writing makes these aspects even
stronger than the stuff his characters smoke, creating a symbolic haze that
threatens to obscure, and perhaps ultimately envelop, their lives.
Pubdate: Fri, 28 Mar 2003
Source: Wilmington Morning Star (NC)
Copyright: 2003 Wilmington Morning Star
Contact: letters@wilmingtonstar.com
Website: Wilmington Star News: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Wilmington, NC
theater City Stage, got together for an initial script read-through, they
had a hard time containing their hilarity. "We sat in this room and read it
(and) we peed our pants," said director Jon Stafford. "But then, when you
get into it more, it's definitely about some heavy stuff."
By "heavy stuff" Mr. Stafford's not talking about the quality doobage the
play's characters partake of, he's talking about meaningful life
situations. It's just that the people involved in those situations happen
to smoke a whole, whole lot of pot.
But believe it or not, Pot Mom - which opens tonight and was written by Los
Angeles playwright Justin Tanner, who also penned Zombie Attack!, perhaps
City Stage's biggest nonmusical hit - isn't just a bunch of weed jokes and
stoner references. While there is some of that, the play bears little
resemblance to movies by dope-inspired duo Cheech and Chong or cult flicks
such as Half-Baked, and it certainly doesn't come off as pro-marijuana.
"I don't think it's really about pot so much," said Nina Repeta, who plays
Patty, the pot mom in question. "It's more about the relationships."
Patty lives in the suburban wasteland of lower-middle-class California with
her boyfriend of nine months, truck-driving dope dealer Richard (Kevin
Scanlon), and her three squabbling kids, approximate ages 18-21. There's
the petulant Troy (Robert Rogan), who's always baiting Richard, and
hatefully competitive sisters Lisa (Nicole Milliken) and Lorraine (Jennah
McKay), who sling barbs at each other and anyone else who happens to be in
the room.
Patty's hanger-on friend Michelle (Barbara Weetman), who owns a candle
store "in the crappy part of the mall," is a constant presence in the
hopped-up household, where pothead bandmates Gene (Jake Steel) and Nick
(Michael Cassano) occasionally drop in to score grass off Richard.
When Richard, sick of his stash being pinched by Patty's kids, puts a lock
on his greenhouse/supply room, tensions escalate. Throw in an illicit
romance (you'll have to guess between whom) and Lorraine's social climbing
- - she brings snooty friends Carla (Amanda Richardson) and Danielle (Heather
Kroel) over to meet her drug-addled family in one hilarious scene - and
you've got a play without an incredibly strong plot but with well-drawn
characters and some biting social commentary.
"I think a (large percentage) of America is this group of people," said Mr.
Stafford, who, along with Ms. Weetman, saw the play during its opening run
in Los Angeles at the tiny Cast Theater in 1994.
Essentially, Pot Mom is about how the spaced-out, unemployed Patty, a not
badly intentioned woman, has unwittingly helped to mess up the lives of
everyone who loves her by refusing to deal with anything. Conflicts simmer
all around her, until, inevitably, they boil over simultaneously.
"Patty's a really nice person," said Mr. Rogan, who's playing Patty's son
Troy. "But she's a pretty bad mom."
Pot Mom has been produced sitcom-style before, at the Steppenwolf Theatre
in Chicago in 1998 (it's easy to see how the play could be interpreted as
Married with Children . . . on Dope!), but it was a production that missed
the mark, according to its author. "They thought I was a sun-soaked surfer
guy, and they had surfer music on the soundtrack," Mr. Tanner told The Los
Angeles Times. "The reviews said it was like a sitcom without jokes."
There are plenty of jokes in Pot Mom, of course; they just aren't the most
important thing.
As with any play, the characters and their relationships are the key to
drama and, for the most part, Mr. Tanner's writing makes these aspects even
stronger than the stuff his characters smoke, creating a symbolic haze that
threatens to obscure, and perhaps ultimately envelop, their lives.
Pubdate: Fri, 28 Mar 2003
Source: Wilmington Morning Star (NC)
Copyright: 2003 Wilmington Morning Star
Contact: letters@wilmingtonstar.com
Website: Wilmington Star News: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Wilmington, NC