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S.A. EXPRESS-NEWS REVIEW |
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oldfriends.com E-mail can be annoying — all that insistent spam, all those offers of easy money from far-flung royalty if you just give 'em a little of your own cash — but it can also bring people together. In playwright Marcia Monbleau's "Oldfriends.com," currently playing at Steven Stoli Playhouse, it gives lifelong buddies Kate (Sandy Schwartz) and Val (Paula Jo Peterson) an inexpensive way to chat — a good thing, since Val lives in London, and the long-distance phone calls were adding up. Their notes to each other include their thoughts on the big stuff (aging, life after death, faith and fears of being alone) and the small stuff (the evils of self-help books and the incontinence of their pets). The piece covers a year's worth of e-mails, started in January 2001, shortly after Val's husband gave her a laptop. She eyes it with suspicion at first, but eventually comes to appreciate it. The piece plays kind of like a high-tech version of "Love Letters," A.R. Gurney's oft-performed play that unfolds in a string of letters. But there's a little more action in this — the women's acquisition of software that allows them to dictate their e-mails is a nice touch that allows them to move around a little more (though Schwartz's extended hunt for a screwdriver goes on too long). The e-mails have the ring of truth — each woman has a distinctive voice, and their affection for one another comes across, as does their occasional irritation with one another. Schwartz and Peterson have an easy chemistry. Each does a bang-up job with these women, clearly getting across their fondness for each other. The show, directed by Steven Stoli, has a lot of charm. "Oldfriends.com" can be seen at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 17 at the Steven Stoli Playhouse, 11838 Wurzbach Road. Tickets cost $12 to $18.50. Call (210) 408-0116 for reservations. dlmartin@express-news.net
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FRIDAYS 7:30 - (NEW
SHOW TIME) |
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MAKE
YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY, THIS ONE WILL SELL OUT QUICKLY |