Unusual ‘52 Pick Up’ reshuffles standard love story
Two performers + 52 cards + 52 brief scenes about relationships = “52 Pick Up.”
The unusual format, rather than the content itself, is the chief interest in this modestly enjoyable novelty, making its area premiere at Theater LaB Houston.
A man and woman enter, circle each other cagily, then issue a challenge. “Tell me a story.” “Real or made-up?” “Both.” “Happy or sad?” “Both.” They fiddle with a deck of cards, divide the cards, then toss them in the air. For the rest of the show, man and woman alternately pick up one card after another off the floor, read a brief phrase written on it, then act out the corresponding scene. “Penny for Your Thoughts.” “First Meeting.” And so on. The vignettes depict moments in a relationship, from beginning to end — and beyond, to its aftermath.
The fact that the scenes play in a random (and always different) order adds interest to the essentially familiar material.
Like many enterprises of its kind, “52 Pick Up,” from time to time, can seem a little too pleased with itself. Occasionally, there’s a genuinely poignant bit or a sharp comic line that makes its point neatly: “You are so sexy when you hate me.” Most of the situations, issues and insights could be out of any romantic comedy. Yet played in random order, with connections becoming evident only gradually, sorting out the jumbled relationship becomes something of a guessing game.
The performance has the air of an acting (or writing) exercise — explorative yet unfinished,
like a work-in-progress or ever-evolving. That’s accented by Linda Phenix’s freewheeling direction, with the transitional bits and card pickups virtually danced.
Written by T J Dawe and Rita Bozi, the show is performed at Theatre LaB by James Monaghan and Robin Van Zandt. Both personable players, they go through their paces with game good humor and energy, seeming to pour a good deal of themselves into their Everyguy, Everygal roles.
The response really depends on what one wants from an evening of theater. One could quibble it’s either too much or too little — or maybe more accurately, too much of too little. On the other hand, one might give greater weight to the fresh, quirky and playful qualities that commend “52 Pick Up” as something different.
Like any card game, “52 Pick Up” may not be an event to remember, but it passes the time pleasantly enough.