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| Jason Alberty as Professor Peter Pizzle |
photos by James E. Trainor III
Cedar Rapids—"How can you speak about everything, briefly?" This dilemma, raised by Jason Alberty's pontificating Professor Pizzle, seems uniquely well-suited to 3, the most recent installment of SPT Theatre's "Tales from the Writer's Room." The most obvious answer, of course, is sketch comedy... but as SPT has long realized, that doesn't *quite* cut it. Pertinent music and some well-placed moments of sincerity are also needed in order to truly approach full coverage. In order to sufficiently untangle what Pizzle refers to as the "dialectic conundrum" of 3, the group calls on every skill in its considerable arsenal, and rises to the challenge.
On the poster for this show, SPT indeed references the "triumvirate of music, comedy and drama"—but what emerged more clearly from last night's performance was the triarchy of actors, writers, and musicians, weaving their skills together seamlessly while at the same time competing good-naturedly for audience attention. Wonderful moments were created to showcase and savor each. Alberty's engaging physicality and special guest Matthew James' ability to pull faces that speak more than a full page of dialogue draw focus to the actors' contribution. Director Richard Barker's hand in all this is obvious, especially when pointed attention shifts serve to highlight the clever or beautiful wordplay. The musicians had opportunities to play up their versatility and flexibility, bouncing around stylistically with infectious joy.
