Tupperware Orgy
nytheatre.com review by Debbie Hoodiman
April 9, 2005
It clearly states, in the Book of Common Sense, that one should not have serious expectations for a play titled Tupperware Orgy. Nevertheless, being a fan of some of the artists involved in this project, namely the playwright/director, John DeVore, and actors Jeff Lewonczyk and Hope Cartelli, I walked in expecting to laugh my ass off and to be impressed with what I thought would be an intelligent, quirky, atypical comedy.
Tupperware Orgy, which is billed as a romantic comedy, turns out to be a sort of “theatre of the absurd” play about a wild, violent, drugged-out group of friends on a particularly strange night. The play begins with a couple, Devon and Cath, played by Lewonczyk and Cartelli, having a fight in their apartment in a small town and breaking up before he leaves for work. Their neighbor Sally (Therese Ducey) shows up with a bloody pan that she has just hit her boyfriend Cameron (Jesse Shafer) over the head with. Cameron comes in and it comes to light that Cath used to be involved with him and that he is a total jerk. Soon, another friend, Sissy (Alyssa Simon), shows up, hurt and angry because her girlfriend, Emily (Milkki Baloy), has left her due to advice from a velvet Jesus painting.
As the night progresses, the characters get drunk and stoned. They make a big mess and there’s plenty of blood and a weird kind of female empowerment. They confront a serial killer (Peter Bean), and all three couples—Devon and Cath, Sally and Cameron, and Emily and Sissy—end up re-connecting—albeit bizarrely—which is the romantic part of the comedy.
The company of actors works well together, and they seem to have a lot of fun going all out. Alyssa Simon particularly stands out as Sissy, making some quick, hilarious transitions.
But for all the fun they seem to be having, I ultimately found Tupperware Orgy disappointing. I was hoping for—and I think Devore and his crew are going for—the charming quirkiness of a non-musical Rocky Horror Show. But, except for the strange female empowerment theme, the play doesn't seem to have much to say; and it's just not consistently funny enough for that not to matter. Who wants to just watch people do drugs & drink & be silly?
