Boom!

On Tuesday, we journeyed across the water and into the rain, fighting the urge to snuggle up under a warm blankie and stay home. Ahh...winter in Seattle. Dark, cold and wet.

Part of the reason we picked up season tickets to the Rep is that I love the play Waiting for Godot. Imagine my annoyance when that shows ends up being canceled (apparently the backer, well backed out) and the substitute show was nothing we were even remotely interested in. But we had wanted to see Boom which was on the seven show subscription pack and we had only bought the five show season.

A nerdy marine biologist calculates that the end of the world is near and posts an online personals ad, hoping to romance the girl that will help him ensure the survival of the species. But when push comes to shove, saving life on earth on the first date proves to be a bit of a challenge. Exciting new playwright Nachtrieb brings us this funny, slightly warped and ultimately hopeful look at the apocalypse.

Thankfully, the Rep was willing to swap our tickets from the uninteresting replacement show for the very interesting "not in our package" show. So even though we were tempted to stay at home and drink cocoa, we climbed in the car and braced our suburban selves to park in Seattle. I hate paying for parking!

After a brisk walk to the theater (hey- we only pain $5 to park) we settled in our seats and waited for the show to begin. Boom has a surprisingly small cast, only three actors and one of them is more of a narrator than a participant. We were pleased to see Nick Garrison again as the male lead Jules. We last saw him as the MC in Cabaret, (remember- he's the one who called me a whore). It was great fun to see him on a small stage and with such a small cast. He did a fantastic job and I hope we see him again soon.

At first I was put off by the role of Barbara, brilliantly acted - dear God I hope she was acting - by Gretchen Krich. But about a third of the way through I was riveted. She has this amazing monologue about her conception that is worth attending the show just for those few minutes!

I will caution that expletives are used frequently throughout the show. The two favorites being "fu*k" and "mother fu*ker". For the rest of this blog post I'll substitution "bunny" and "fluffy bunny". Yes. Fluffy Bunny. I want you to work that in to every day conversation. I think the proper tone will properly convey your meaning. Plus you can say it in front of small children.

The character of Jo (female) was probably my least favorite of the three. She had some good moments, and some not so good one. She is best characterized by her turret's like use of bunny and fluffy bunny in every other sentance. Barbara also likes to say fluffy bunny, but I liked it better when she said it.

If you have a chance, Boom was a fluffy bunny-ing good night out, well worth the trek out of the suburbs. Fluffy Bunny.