“Wigfield” — Snickers at the Diseased Heartland of America

By Ernest Kearney — A writer (Scott Golden) is assigned to do a book on the town of Wigfield. Nestled in the shadow of a threatened dam, it is a small community that makes David Lynch’s Twin Peaks look like Mayberry; three mayors, oversexed teenagers, con men and a marauding serial killer on the loose.

Written by Pamela Eberhardt, the piece is adapted from the novel Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not by Amy SedarisPaul Dinello, and Stephen Colbert and is currently onstage at the Hudson Theatres for the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019.

One can see the wit of those three, comedy heavy hitters in this staging, directed by Arlo Sanders:

“Freedom comes with a price, which is money.”

“Sometimes it’ll take me twice as long to do nothing as it takes a city girl to do something.”

“Keep on living till it kills you.”

Overall Wigfield is rough and pleasantly ridiculous, and the cast succeeds in getting a sense of the absurd across to the audience, especially Golden. But one can’t help but wish, considering the source of the material, that time had Silver Medal (via The TVolution)been taken to see this diamond in the rough was polished more thoroughly.

A SILVER MEDAL.


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Written by

An award-winning L.A. playwright and rabble-rouser of note who has hoisted glasses with Orson Welles, been arrested on three continents and once beat up Charlie Manson. His first play, "Among the Vipers" was a semi-finalist in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition and was featured in the Carnegie-Mellon Showcase of New Plays. It was produced at the NPT Theater in Ashland, Oregon and Los Angeles’ celebrated Odyssey Ensemble Theatre. His following play, “The Little Boy Who Loved Monsters” was produced at The Hollywood Actors Theater, where he earned praise from the Los Angeles Times for his “…inordinately creative writing.” The play went on to numerous other productions including Berlin’s The Black Theatre under the direction of Rainer Fassbinder who wrote in his program notes of Kearney, “He is a skilled playwright, but more importantly he is a dangerous one.” Ernest Kearney has worked as literary manager or as dramaturge for among others The Hudson Theater Guild, Nova Diem and the Odyssey Ensemble Theatre, where he still serves on the play selection committee. He has been the recipient of two Dramalogue Awards and a finalist or semi-finalist, three times, in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition. His work has been performed by Michael Dunn, Sandra Tsing Loh, Jack Colvin and Billy Bob Thornton, and to date, either as playwright or director, he has upwards of a hundred and thirty productions under his belt, including a few at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater as puppeteer. Kearney remains focused on his writing, as well as living happily ever after with his lovely wife Marlene. His stage reviews and social essays can be found at TheTVolution.com and workingauthor.com. Follow him on Facebook.

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