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Sometimes theatre is a deep, penetrating look into the human soul -- a full course dinner from soup to nuts. Other times it's more akin to tapas -- a variety of yummy snacks that adds up to light fare. Radio :30 (check out that whippy e-card!) at Hyde Park Theatre is somewhere in between. Both tragic and comic, both heavy and light, it's served up like tapas but lingers (in a good way) more like a hearty meal.
This two-man show features Mical Trejo as Ron, a youthful, but not all that young, vocal talent. Entering the studio to sail through yet another 30-second commercial spot, Ron takes breaks to tell us about himself. Calm and a bit cocky, his boyish face; hip, casual clothes; and confident demeanor welcome us in. He describes life behind the mic. Periodically, he banters with Mike (Robert S. Fisher), the producer with whom he has worked for many years. The man behind the scenes, we never see Mike, who prompts Ron as he runs through the pithy yet trite language of a burger joint ad. Mike propels Ron forward as he digs into the spot and delves into himself -- his insecurities in general, and a recent personal failing in particular.
With a running time of just under an hour, we get only a slice of Ron's life. It's a rich slice, though, and Trejo's metamorphosis from kinetic, cool, collected professional to utterly wiped out mess -- completely frozen both literally and figuratively -- is remarkable. When things kick off he is fresh and relaxed, and his voice ranges all over the scale. Up, down, and all around, it's catchy just the way a great vocal talent's voice should be. Three days later and we're still laughing over remembered snippets of the commercial (which is repeated frequently enough to be funny but not annoying...believe it or not) because Trejo's method of voicing it was so addictive. Admittedly Trejo is a real-life pro -- by day he's a DJ at Jammin' 105.9. Nevertheless, he fully inhabits Ron from start to finish. And the finish in particular, after Ron has slowly melted into a wan, grey-faced, somehow older man, is a very nice piece of acting.
Fisher helps things along by prodding Ron in all the right places. There's one moment in particular that exemplifies Fisher's great work in this role. Just as Ron starts to think he might actually fail at what should be a cinchy job, Mike comes over his headset and says, "That was...good." Or rather, "That was good" -- with sincerity, encouragement...and a nanosecond pause (an almost imperceptible fraction of a second) that throws the entire compliment into doubt. It takes a high level of finesse to pull this off, and both in the moment and in retrospect we were and are wowed by it.
This is the kind of thing that director Ken Webster excels at. He has the keenest ear for the rhythms and vocal play of the stage. We've always appreciated his lightly stylized touch. He takes scripts that are grounded and real -- we suspect Radio :30 is dead on in its depiction of the typical attitudes and lifestyle of a voice talent -- and sprinkles his special Webster mojo on them to fully engage and intrigue us. Things go a little faster than life here...and a little slower than life there...keeping us at full attention in a kind of sneaky way. Because Radio :30 is all about delicately tuned moods and voices, it shows off the strengths of Webster's style.
So in short this short has plenty to offer. From a glimpse into the personality of, well, a radio personality, to a nice display of acting chops from both performers, it's a satisfying night of theatre.
Radio :30
Th/Fr/Sa at 8pm thru August 5
Hyde Park Theatre, 511 West 43rd St.
Tickets by calling 479-PLAY
E-card (c) Mark Lovell of Rockin' Flash, creator of similar e-cards for Rude Mechs, Ballet Austin, Austin Lyric Opera, and more.
Image (c) Hyde Park Theatre.
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