Dare to go to "The Next Reunion"---you'll be glad you did

Should I even go? What do I wear? Will ( most annoying, popular for no discernable reason, person) be there? Why isn’t my novel, finished, published, and on the NY Times best-seller list? Why am I not married yet? Why don’t I own a house? Ah---high school reunions: purveyors of self-doubt, discomfort---even misery and perhaps a little curiosity. Did ‘most annoying etc. popular person’ above crash and burn and

become an ordinary suburban robot?

(Photo,above right: Nora Fitzgerald (Betsy), Jake Blouch (Jake), Christopher Handschuch (Craig), Owen Pelesh (Robert) in "The Next Reunion".) `

As “The Next Reunion” opens, that perky person in your high school class, Emily (Jaclyn Netis) is manically and cheerfully spreading the ‘good’ news that the 10^thReunion is coming up. She calls friends Jake (Jake Blouch) and Craig (Christopher Handschuch). They immediately recall Emily’s high school nickname and revert to high school mentality and perception about her.

Jake and Craig met in high school and remain good friends. “The Next Reunion” is presented in a cabaret style theater so the audience sits on 2 sides with some in front sitting at tables. This enhances the feeling that you are the ‘fly on the wall’ getting an inside look at the lives of others.

As Jake and Craig meet for a drink, we learn that Craig works in a boring job with the Department of Transportation. Jake has the job he wants, Writer, but he writes obituaries---not exactly the great American novel.

At the reunion, Jake and Craig meet up with Betsy (Nora Fitzgerald), tall, stunning and elegant in a beautifully ruched and draped coral dress. A flashback reveals that she had quite a different style of dressing in high school. In that flashback, we are also given a glimpse of high school English class with Mr. Patton (Will Dennis), the teacher who encouraged and validated Jake’s talents as a writer.

Jake, Craig and Emily brave their reunion and come to the realization that no one really knew them in any significant way in high school. All three felt like outsiders, even rejected by others.

Given that their reunion is a bust, Nora suggests that the 3 crash 2 two other reunions and assume new identities. Jake likes the idea—Craig is a little dubious—although he will ultimately both suffer and benefit greatly as a result of these identitiy games.

With a sense of fun, attitude and resourcefulness Jake, Nora, and the reluctant Craig dive into the ‘other’ reunions. Suddenly, they are homecoming queens, quarterbacks,

____________?, fill in your fantasy. Deftly adapting to the curves thrown by the

various guardians of the front name-tag/ ’how far did you travel to get here?’ tables, the 3 embark on a hilarious romp of pretense, confusion, farce and false identity fun reminiscent of the Restoration comedy “The Rivals”. There’s plenty of sharp , witty dialogue. The third reunion these 3 crash should be their ‘Waterloo’ but a little cleverness and lots of determined attitude carry them through the small hitch that arises.

Jake Blouch as Jake is laid-back but slowly and deftly reveals the playful creative imagination and sense of fun in his character. He blossoms and finds a good path in life before our eyes. This is a subtle, gifted performance.

Nora Fitzgerald as Betsy is powerful, funny and takes no nonsense from the men. Fitzgerald endows Betsy with a wry sense of humor. She creates a fine bridge between Betsy’s somewhat misdirected high-school posturing and passion and the elegant, wise, witty but still just a little insecure swan she becomes.

Christopher Handschuh is hilariously manic as Craig. Like a free radical atom, he bounces around life and the reunions finally finding the place he bounces best in life—for now anyway.

Will Dennis does a beautiful turn as the wise, patient, dedicated English teacher Mr. Patton.

Other ‘classmates’: Jaclyn Netis as Emily does a hilarious job as the over-eager organizer of the reunion and segues nicely into a small arc that gives us an insight into her. Deedee Mann is wonderfully neurotic as Lisa. Owen Pelesh is a riot as a hair-dresser with panache caught up in a false identity scheme hatched by Jake. Nadiya Phillips doubles up as Grace from High school number 1 doing a lovely transformation from intense High school student to warmly welcoming organizer. As the table guardian for the final school, she has a glint in her eye that suggests she just might derail the crashers. Brian Mulhern is Frank, Mike and Host. Brian, I thought you were 3 different guys. What more can I say?

Playwright/Director/Producer Larry McKenna has a witty, sharp, entertaining-----even insightful play here.

Terrifying though they may be, high school reunions----especially when they aren’t really yours at all----can lead you to interesting places and make you discover things about yourself and gain insights to go forward---that is, if you can decide which dress to wear and whether to go!

“The Next Reunion” Experience: Arrive 30 minutes early to fill out your name tag (High School too). Prizes will be given for “farthest distance traveled” and “most children”. Get a drink at intermission, mingle with the other audience members and go for the prize for best story of six degrees of separation with another audience member OR Best Lie about what you are doing with your life now (as inspired by the show).