Fringe Show Reviews

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

The Optimists

Written by: Morwyn Brebner

Presented by: Relativity Theatre, Winnipeg, MB

Venue 6: Tom Hendry Theatre

Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/21/2012 4:03 PM | Comments: 0

One wishes what happened in Vegas would have stayed in Vegas in this 75-minute comedy-drama from playwright Morwyn Brebner in which two couples, one married and the other about to be married, mix it up in one long night’s journey into tedium.

Chick (Karl Eckstrand) is a car salesman hoping three times will be lucky as he prepares to get hitched with undiscriminating dealership receptionist Teenie (Leslie Boardman). Chick’s buddy Doug (Martin Wilson) is an oncologist intent on some kind of vague mischief until his frosty psychiatrist wife Margie (Jennifer Gottwald) arrives to put a damper on the party.

It’s not explained why a contemporary Vegas honeymoon suite is furnished like a Winnipeg Beach cabin, but then much is inexplicable here, including why we would be interested in this quartet of unpleasant, not very interesting characters.

— Randall King

From the Fringe program:

Four Canadians find themselves in a Vegas motel room. Two plan to wed and the other two are already married. Who is the happier couple?

Morwyn Brebner, a Canadian playwright, explores dysfunctional relationships in this emotionally charged dramatic comedy set in Sin City.

Where else would you get married at sunrise with killer hangovers and then go to Denny's for breakfast?

What happens in Vegas is revealed at the Fringe!

Recommended For: Mature Audience

Length: 75 min

Tickets: $10

Discount Tickets: $8 for Students, Seniors

Under 16 not admitted.

Warnings: Subject Matter, Language

History

Updated on Saturday, July 21, 2012 at 4:03 PM CDT:
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