50 not out for 'Charlie's Angels'

Patrick Brown's hilarious comedy, Charlie's Angels, will celebrate 50 performances when the curtain goes up tonight at the Centerstage Theatre in New Kingston at 8 p.m.

The production has been playing to appreciative audiences since its opening night back on July 29, with many citing the performance of young Turk Teisha Duncan as easily the best they have seen on local stage for some time now. Duncan plays the role of the sassy go-go dancer Bubbles, who does much violence to the English language with skilful and incisive malapropisms.

The energetic cast is completed by comic actor par excellence Glen 'Titus' Campbell, the effervescent Camille Davis, and the deceptively reserved Sharee McDonald-Russell.

Payback time

Davis plays the leading antagonist - psychopath Shanika, who entraps Charlie Wood (Glen Campbell) and pledges to make him pay for the romantic wrongs he has done to her. Poor Charlie finds out soon enough that she has invited an audience to witness his payback.

On the guest list is Charlie's dear wife Keisha (Sharee McDonald-Russell) as well as another 'victim' in the person of go-go dancer Bubbles (Teisha Duncan).

Shanika leads the pack, hell bent on making the "dawg" Charlie pay dearly. He is lured to her apartment and held hostage. Among the paraphernalia in Shanika's apartment, is a curious looking guillotine - with a rather strange opening.

Christened Bobbitt, the guillotine boasts an opening just below the waist, designed to sharply remove a particular member of the human body.

Just to see Charlie's face when he is introduced to Bobbitt is by itself worth the full admission price to see the production - a show-stopper if there ever was one.

Charlie's traumatic awakening frequently swings from hope to despair. The invited audience of female 'victims' surprisingly oscillates in their decisions, frequently finding it difficult to arrive at consensus on what to do with Charlie.

The outstanding directorial work of theatre veteran Trevor Nairne, OD, shines through like a beacon, with all the actors displaying a full grasp of the characters they have been asked to breathe life into.

Nairne is the artistic director in residence at Centerstage and was also responsible for all the creative elements when the play was first staged in the summer of 2004, then titled Last Stand.

Playwright Patrick Brown is right on the ball once again with another signature laugh riot. The laughter in the theatre each night reaches fever pitch, with patrons finding it difficult to control themselves. On leaving the theatre a few nights ago, one young lady openly commented that she comes to Centerstage when she is feeling down, with full confidence that she will feel much better at the end. From all indications, it appeared that Bubbles had become her alter ego.

Charlie's Angels continues its limited run at the Centerstage Theatre, playing Tuesdays to Fridays at 8 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. The box office opens on show days from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.