Little Thing, Big Thing
by Donal O’Kelly
Directed by Ellie Schwetye
Midnight Company
February 3, 2017
Joe Hanrahan’s Midnight Company has proved to be an ideal showcase for one-man shows over the years, highlighting Hanrahan’s talent and versatility in playing a variety of characters in one work. With Midnight’s newest production, however, Hanrahan has a co-star, the equally talented and versatile Rachel Tibbetts. This quirky, fast-paced, intelligently staged one-act comedy-drama proves to be an excellent vehicle for both of its lead performers and for its two supporting musicians.
Little Thing, Big Thing isn’t a long play, and in a way it lives up to its name. It’s a “little” play with some big ideas, allowing both of its stars to play a variety of roles, although each has one principal role. It’s something of a mystery thriller, dark comedy, buddy road-trip story featuring small-time thief Larry O’Donnell (Hanrahan), who in the process of trying to pull off one last heist finds himself in the company of Scottish nun Sister Martha (Tibbetts), who has just returned from spending years on a mission to Nigeria, and who has an urgent new mission of her own, bringing her and Larry into confrontation with shady gangsters, corrupt government officials, and more. It’s an extremely fast-moving show with a lot of story going on and a lot of character development as Larry and Martha meet various benevolent and not-so-benevolent characters along the way as the story unfolds and intrigue increases, leading to a surprising conclusion, in more ways than one.
The show is simply staged in a vast studio space at Avatar Studios near Downtown. Director Ellie Schwetye has assembled a great cast and crew, with excellent atmospheric contributions from musicians Jason Scroggins and Will Bonfiglio, playing a variety of folk tunes and other songs to complement the story, with Michael B. Perkins’ excellent video contributing to the experience as well. Jennifer “JC” Krajicek as provided the costumes, which suit the characters well, especially Tibbetts, who has some fun costume changes.
A show like this depends largely on the strength of its two leads, and Hanrahan and Tibbetts make the most of all of their roles. Tibbetts brings a lot of fire and determination to Martha, and she and Hanrahan have a believable, sometimes friendly, sometimes combative chemistry. Hanrahan brings a lot of flustered, foul-mouthed charm to the role of the hapless Larry, making his initially unwilling road trip with Martha intriguing, sometimes funny, and sometimes emotionally intense. Both performers play a variety of other characters as needed, and they play them well, although Larry and Martha are the main focus. Tibbett’s Glasgow accent isn’t exactly accurate, but it’s consistent and contributes to the quirkiness of her character, as well.
Little Thing, Big Thing is a dynamic, sometimes extremely funny, sometimes challenging work that is driven by the winning performances of its two stars. It’s a timely play, with political and social messages conveyed in a jarringly effective manner. It’s a little play with big characters and big performances, and that’s a good thing.
The Midnight Company’s production of Little Thing, Big Thing is running at Avatar Studios until February 11, 2016.
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