Co-stars Andrew Parks & Tarina Pouncy
Take two men on a mission, the most fateful one of their lifetimes. One, an old family money, blue blood kind of guy. The other, a profane Jewish comedy writer with a bad attitude. What are they doing together in a presidential suite at a luxury hotel? You’ll have to see “Locked and Loaded” to find out, and what transpires on stage will stay with you.
The show was written by Todd Susman and had its West Coast premiere at the Santa Monica Playhouse on February 18. It’s a funny, fast-paced, 90-minute meditation on the meaning of life–as seen through the eyes of two friends bonded by a fatal condition–and with the unexpected insight of two unlikely female companions called upon to, um, comfort them in their final hours.
Featuring Paul Linke, Andrew Parks, Tarina Pouncy (alternating in the role with Sandra Thigpen) and Terasa Sciortino, and directed by Chris DeCarlo, “Locked and Loaded” is an irreverent morality play that calls into question the meaning of life. The New York Times called it “a play that doesn’t look or sound like anything you’ve ever seen before.”
Linke, as Irwin Schimmel, and Parks, as Dickie Rice, are set to spend an alcohol-fueled night at the luxury hotel. No spoilers here, but one of them decides they need some female companionship–and the women who show up at their door forever alter their lives.
The dramedy unfolds at the Santa Monica Playhouse, which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. With two performance spaces at its theatre complex, 600 productions to its credit and more than 250 awards, its mission of community awareness through drama has generated international alliances with sister theatre companies in England, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, Hong Kong, Alaska and New York. The Playhouse is staffed by a troupe of multi-talented performers who strive to make live, intimate theatre a creative, positive force in the community.
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3:30 p.m. Sundays through April 16. Runs 1 ½ hours, $21-$26
Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th Street, Santa Monica, (310) 394-9779, www.santamonicaplayhouse.com
