Thumbs up (and off) for 'Thumbs'
By Michael Birchenall
Elden Street Players, the
heavy hitter of the local community theater scene, opened its season with a
strong staging of “Thumbs” which delivers more than smiles. There is unabashed
laughter occurring right here in the 'burbs.
The
Industrial Strength Theatre in Herndon found respected local thespian Todd Huse directing the Elden Street
Players in a lively, often hilarious “Thumbs,” the regional premiere of the
play by Tony award winner Rupert Holmes.
Holmes is a master of words (and a brilliant composer as well), and he loves a
good twist in meaning and tone. And then he loves to use it again and then at
times, again. As we are laughing, I cannot help but thinking the playwright is
surely amused with his ability to carry us along.
Director Huse has key actors in prominent places in
the show, and they carry the tale superbly. Without strong women in the two
leading female roles, the show would have died, with the good probability of
losing both hands, not just the thumbs. No worries here—Margaret Bush as Marta
Dunhill and Jane E. Petkofsky as Jane Morton step
forward as masters of the Holmes banter as they lay out the intricacies of the
story on stage. We keep laughing as the thumbs are clipped in the search for a
serial killer—and I will have one more Vienna sausage, please.
What makes the play pop is the brilliant performance of Mark Adams as the
hayseed, simpleton deputy Wilton Dekes. It is his
superb complementary role that pushes forward the acting efforts of Bush and Petkofsky and allows Huse to effectively
unfold the mystery of the evening while keeping the humor. It did not but take the opening play of the season to find the early front
runner for supporting actor nominations.
With the number of plays I see in a year and other constraints on a tight
schedule, I rarely think about going back to a play. This is a show I am
already trying to fit into another weekend for a second viewing. You should see
it at least once.
©Times Community Newspapers 2004