For the easily embarrassed, “You and Me (Together for a Walk)” is a nightmare.
The ensemble-devised piece – a LAB! Theatre original performed as part of their second-stage LAB!oratory – begins with an awkward silence and ends with bold eye contact with the audience.
What happens in the middle is a richly entertaining, if somewhat disjointed, collection of stories.
The piece makes the familiar strange through the actors’ use of masks. These masks, rather than the bodies behind them, shape the piece’s characters. Behind one mask, Josh Wolonick is a bumbling, grinning moron. Behind another, he is a swaggering, adulterous winery owner.
A standout of the production is Ana Eguiguren’s slightly stoned portrayal of Stu. Her persistent use of the word “man” in her nonchalantly delivered lines should get old, but it just gets funnier.
As the piece progresses, it becomes difficult to mentally separate the masks from their wearers. Something feels wrong in the rare moments when the actors’ faces are unmasked — their natural features seem foreign and incorrect.
Composed as a series of vignettes, the performance has no concrete plot. It briskly moves from scene to scene, refusing to apologize for any possible confusion.
Though this style is at first jarring, it gradually becomes charming. Not surprisingly, it’s fun to watch a play whose action moves from a tame ballet class to an alien abduction in less than an hour.
Though the majority of the production is comical, it also contains some serious moments. There is a death whose gravity is quickly negated by a clever “Old Yeller” reference, and some well-choreographed dance sequences conveniently occur when the piece is in danger of becoming pure absurdity.
The pluck of the performance is refreshing. The actors are fearless in their eccentricity and play the piece’s sillier moments with admirable conviction. They will gladly belt out the “Grease” ballad “Beauty School Dropout” or embody a grape-stomping pig.
It is evident that the actors are having a blast every single minute that they are on stage, and the audience can’t help but join in the merriment.
“You and Me (Together for a Walk)” is being performed in room 102 of the Center for Dramatic Art from Friday to Monday. Friday to Sunday shows are at 8 p.m. with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday and a 5 p.m. show Monday. Admission is free.
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