Anticipating "Cherrywood" (theatre preview by Don Hall)

The buzz is in the air.

Hedi LOVED it. Vire LOVED it. Jones...well...Jones admired the ambition and was afraid to criticize Cromer because it would be sacrosanct to criticize the Man Who Revitalized Wilder.

I'm gonna see it. I need to see it. Not because of the 49 effing actors - much hay has been made by this aspect and, while it's an audacious hook - HOLY SHIT! So Many Off Loop Actors I've Never Heard Of All Crammed Into One Tiny Space!! - the "must see" factor is Cromer. He did, in fact, create an indelible production of "Our Town" and, from what I hear, a strong "Streetcar" as well.

Here is my reservation. I didn't really like the house parties when I was twenty. I like them even less now. I understand that those in their college days have lots of existential angst but I found it deadly dull when I was there, pining away at my Gen X status and what Reagan meant to my generation and how awful the recession was and Can't We Just Elect Someone With Passion and Substance? From what I understand, "Cherrywood" is a modern retelling of "subUrbia" through the lens of Richard Linklater's "Slacker" (also set in Austin, TX). Which is to say, about as appealing as a punch in the nuts while listening to a vapid kid lecture me on the dangers of animal testing.

But then there's this Cromer thing.

The guy is brilliant and accomplished and is willing to follow up his huge, but fairly mainstream, successes with this potential sprawling mess.

So. Yeah. I'll be there.

Rock.

Don Hall