Theatre of the Absurd is alive and well at Buntport where the talented, clever cast and crew have revived their original production, Jugged Rabbit Stew. As created and performed by actors Erik Edborg, Hannah Duggan, Erin Rollman, Eric Weissman, and Brian Colonna along with their talented crew, this musical comedy has all the elements of true absurdity theatre. The characters are caught in a hopeless situation where they engage in dialogue filled with cliches, wordplay and nonsense. The cast sings and clowns getting the audience to laugh as the meaninglessness of the human condition and man’s animal nature and cruelty are exposed.

Snowball, played by Erik Edborg, is a rabbit with magical powers. Not a kindly “Harvey”, this rabbit is in an alcoholic slump that is wreaking havoc on the magician Alec, the Amazing, and Mystical Maria, his assistant. They both struggle with certain physical changes Snowball has perpetrated upon them. Nevertheless, they continue to love him and try to bring him back to sobriety and to make him become the sort of rabbit they want him to be. Snowball, increasing fearful of entrapment and death, circumvents their attempts to change him. He focusses on his collection, an odd assortment of items that he has “gathered” from others in an effort to make their former owners unhappy. Among this assemblage of stuff is Woman, artfully performed by Erin Rollman. Suspended above the stage along with the other items in the collection, Woman sits in a chair for the entire play. In spite of this limitation Ms. Rollman skillfully creates a complex character. She ultimately becomes the agent of change that Alec and Maria have been seeking.

Hannah Duggan and Evan Weissman are very funny as Mystical Maria and Alec. Brian Colonna, as Arm, is so good that one begins to believe that Arm is actually human. Erik Edborg’s costume and his sure acting abilities lend credibility to his role as the tragic hero. The entire cast gave spirited and professional performances. Their singing was flawless – fun to watch and to hear.

The music, while tuneful and even toe tapping, seemed to parody much of the music in the musicals of the last thirty years. Kudos to Adam Stone for mocking the likes of Schonberg, Boublil, and Webber. The theater at 717 Lipan is small and intimate enough that amplification is unnecessary and whenever Mr. Edborg was singing, the amplification was distracting. Snowball either held the microphone too close or was singing too loud. Often it was difficult to understand the words he was singing. Overall the musical was excellent from start to finish.

-Nancy A. Murphy, February 12, 2014, Lowry News