The great American theater of guns, sex, religion and money are all brought to life without the use of the spoken word in Broom Street Theater's latest production \Silent Play."" Bringing the epic tales of the early films to the stage, Broom Street Theater maintains its reputation as Madison's most non-traditional theater experience. Using only title cards and music, ""Silent Play"" is an amusing experiment aiming to make you laugh.
Written and directed by Callen Harty, author and director of previous productions ""Count Fagula"" and ""Judge,"" ""Silent Play"" takes place mostly in the Wild West of the second half of the 19th century. It follows the rise of young Geo, played with a goofy demure by Matthew Grzybowski. As Geo grows older he must face the attempts of incest by his mother, his father's love of beating the crap out of poor people and eventually the evil and destructive goals of Sheriff Sam Scud.
In the end Geo falls in love with a deeply religious schoolteacher who happens to make great sandwiches, beats the alcoholism he struggles with throughout the play and defeats the evil Sam Scud in a gun battle at the Corral.
Obviously it is not the tight plotline that drives this production. Yet what makes ""Silent Play"" both amusing and impressive to watch are both the actor's use of pantomimes and over-the-top physical comedy. It is a play constructed out of every conceivable archetypal American theme, from boy meets girl to the final gunfight at the corral.
This play, however, makes fun of itself and, in a sense, each of these generic American themes. This mocking tone is set immediately as the play opens with actors marching across the stage in military personas, all meeting their demise on the mock battlefield while blatantly addressing the current political situation. Yet the Broom Street Theater does this in its own uniquely zany manner, tempering the direct political protest.
""Silent Play"" will continue to run at the Broom Street Theater through April 6. It is Callen Harty's 13th production, legitimizing his prolific playwriting at the Broom Street Theater. At only seven dollars, tickets are incredibly low priced for theater. Furthermore, this is one of the only small experimental theaters in Madison and is worth supporting. It is a unique place to watch truly eccentric and interesting theater.
