Mar 5

Mar 5 The Book Club Play at NC Stage Co.

Edwin Arnaudin: It’s odd to think that we’re approaching the one-year anniversary of the last time we saw live theater in person. With venues temporarily shuttered by law to stop the spread of COVID-19, our rich local scene has offered a decent number of live and prerecorded virtual performances — and, in the case of The Magnetic Theatre, some socially distanced outdoor shows — to help bridge the gap. NC Stage Co. has come the closest to recreating online the particular thrill that comes with a unique, live performance by producing multi-week runs of Blood Done Sign My Name and It’s A Wonderful Life 2020 via Zoom. Does its latest production, The Book Club Play, have you looking forward to more works in this vein, or would you rather skip these compromise approaches and wait until theaters reopen?

Bruce Steele: While I look forward to the safe return of live theater, I thoroughly enjoyed The Book Club Play from my sofa. Maybe we should call it The Book Club Zoom, since Karen Zacarías's 2009 stage comedy has been reconceived as a series of Zoom meetings among the five (and later, six) friends. The play's premise — that an unseen documentary filmmaker is recording each session — translates well to Zoom. And make no mistake: This is live theater, with the performers (presumably) in their own living rooms, which is both novel and kind of brave. Did it feel "live" to you?

Edwin: Definitely! Scott Treadway, who plays book club co-founder (or just plain founder?) Will, posted some photos of his home set to Facebook — including a sign on his door asking potential visitors not to knock or ring the doorbell, which would prompt his dogs to start barking and disrupt the live performance. No such disturbances occurred on opening night, but had surprises arisen, I’m confident that this talented cast, director Charlie Flynn-McIver, and his technical team would have rolled with the proverbial punches and figured out something brilliant and witty on the spot. The production is an experiment, but a professional one through and through.

Bruce: I needed some of that NC Stage Co. tech mastery on my end, since I discovered that Zoom doesn't like to mirror its audio to my Apple TV, and then that a Bluetooth speaker paired to a laptop may be lured into silence by the presence of an iPhone it previously dated. My husband Christopher and I managed not to miss too much, but I urge future patrons to test their viewing systems well before showtime. Once we settled in, it was just like eavesdropping on a Zoom call among friends, and we laughed a lot. I didn't see the 2013 in-person production of The Book Club Play at NC Stage Co., but I imagine even those who did will enjoy this new format, with a fresh cast and comic interstitials between scenes. It's lightweight fare, yet touches on familiar themes — the de facto hierarchy in friendships, assumptions we make about identity, and what constitutes literature, to name a few.

Edwin: And it’s a true ensemble piece where everyone gets a chance to shine — and each character gets to unintentionally embarrass themselves, moments in which the actors show off their dramatic range within what’s primarily a comedy. I especially enjoyed the dynamic between the book club’s longest running members: control-freak Ana (Neela Muñoz) and her non-reader husband Rob (Bill Muñoz) — the lone cast members to share a space, which results in some welcome variety — and their college friend Will. I wholly believed their history and the bonds that have sustained their friendships, but their newer, younger fellow members also fit in nicely. Which performances stood out to you?

Bruce: All of the above, as well as Marthaluz Velez as Jen, who gets a good share of the play’s secret-sharing and offbeat character development. As Lily, Katelyn Bowman fully embraces the script’s more comic side yet also comes across as serious enough to school the other characters as needed. Derek Garza, as latecomer Alex, has the least to do, but he’s an amiable presence, and I enjoyed his evocation of unshakable optimism. I also need to acknowledge CJ Barnwell, credited as Lighting and Visual Media Designer. I’m not sure what all that involves in a Zoom production, but since all the performers (and their surroundings) appear equally illuminated and the Zoom juggling came off seamlessly, it's clear Barnwell’s considerable in-person talents were successfully translated to the virtual world.

Edwin: Treadway’s initial “set” photo shows a pair of high-powered lights, so perhaps a casting requirement was BYO Watts? If there was ever a show that warrants a post-performance talkback session, it’s this one — mainly to learn the secrets of how the heck the cast and crew pulled everything off. I’m also curious about the inter-scene sketches, in which each cast member plays a “pundit” who offers humorous observations on books and book clubs. They’re amusing asides, but I was glad to return to the main event. I’m guessing those diversions were pre-recorded?

Bruce: I’m sure they were. They’re silly but lovable. The whole play is rather lovable in a friendly, nonthreatening manner. Viewers may not take away a lot of memorable lines or intense moments, but they’ll enjoy the journey and remember it fondly. Here’s hoping it’s an amiable bridge back to live theater within the next several months. Needles at ready, fingers crossed.

Performances continue through March 21, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. For information and tickets, visit NCStage.org.

Photos: NC Stage Co. (top, promotional image); Christopher Oakley (below)