Laughing Loud about "Laughing Wild"

Jenny, our good friend Helen and I went to see Laughing Wild at the Pier Pressure Productions in Astoria last night. It was a great trip back to the late 80’s featuring a man and  woman each suffering from various neuroses while living in New York City. They dramatized the relevant personal and social issues of the time period in a very funny and intense way.


The Actors  William Hamm and Jenni Newton covered politics, religion, abortion, Aids, GLBT issues, and you name it ! A wide range of personal issues came into question like paranoia, anger, negative and positive karma, love, hate and more. I was really starting to worry how many times Bill hit the floor when the physical parts of the play demanded it. Hopefully Bill has a good chiropractor. He must have had some time as a Hollywood stunt man.

It was small live theater at its best painting realistic and poignant portraits of how to or how not to cope with the insecurities we all have in common. Taking in a live theater performance is a fantastic way to break away from the typical disappointment of today’s forms of movie and television entertainment. We enjoyed it immensely and we thank Bill, Jenni and the director, Susi Brown, for putting the time, energy and passion into a very enjoyable night out.

Pier Pressure Productions: Almost, Maine

Jenny and I went to Pier Pressure Productions Theater in Astoria to see Almost, Maine tonight and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. If you live in Astoria and are looking to give an extraordinary gift to you better half for Valentine’s Day this small Theater Company does an outstanding job touching your heart and soul with funny, poignant and sentimental loves stories. Below is more info on show times.





PIER PRESSURE PRODUCTIONS (260 10th St, Astoria)

Almost, Maine by John Cariani, directed by Susi Brown

8:00pm on Friday and Saturday, February 11, 12,
and 6:00pm on Sunday, February 13.

This poignant comedy played for large, delighted audiences last spring at the Coaster Theatre in Cannon Beach and aims to please again - a tiny space with a huge heart, and a huge cast of favorites.

On a cold, clear, moonless night in the middle of winter, all is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, Almost's residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend in this delightful midwinter night's dream.

Brown brings three of her Coaster production's cast members to PPP, but rather than having six actors play all the town’s characters, she has cast one actor per part, allowing for many favorite players to walk PPP’s boards.

Long-time locals Walt Plummer, Rhonda and Mick Alderman, Toni Ihander, Bill and Lori Wilson Honl, Brandy and Jason Hussa, Ben Van Osdol, and Dave Gager. 3 Cups Coffee House and their roaster offer up the following actors: Carly & T.J. Lackner, Melissa Raines, Elizabeth Daniels and Nancy Montgomery. Fairly new on this regional scene: Bill Ham and Sky Gager, and The Daily Astorian’s beloved Brad Bolchunos and Clatsop County native Alicia Dedmon Bolchunos come in from Portland! Bobbi Brice runs tech, Dan Reiley’s designed set pieces, and Larry Bryant is on lighting design to round out the show.

According to the critics Almost, Maine is “a whimsical approach to the joys and perils of romance.” Magical happenings bloom beneath the snowdrifts." NY Times. "A charming unexpected magic lingers in the air like someone's breath on a cold winter's night. John Cariani aims for the heart by way of the funny bone." Star-Ledger. "Utterly endearing, it's hard not to warm up to ALMOST, MAINE. A crowd-pleaser." Broadway .com "Sweet, poignant and witty."NY Daily News. “A snowy charmer! These nine tales of love in the time of frostbite have a winning glow that proves surprisingly contagious." NY Sun.

Cariani has given us a magical valentine full of surprises, tears, and laughter that kicks winter to the curb.

Tickets (2 hrs. before curtain) at the door only - $15.00, concessions by Jessica Creager available.

2ND SATURDAY ART WALK

Pier Pressure Productions (260 10^th Street) features Charlotte Bruhn and her most recent endeavor, “Seek Within”, the search for identity through the looking glass; reflections of the tarot major arcane during February’s 2nd Saturday Art Walk, from 5 to 7pm only on February 12.

"Seek Within" is a collection of 21 mirror/mosaic and mixed media pieces that encourage the viewer to identify with archetypes, myth and religious tradition while seeing, simultaneously, one’s own image.

Each mirror contains messages both literal and figurative, as represented by "The Fool", "The Moon", "Death", or any of the other major arcana cards of the Tarot. Each card is a step in a journey, the journey of spiritual development, and karmic destiny.

Bruhn works primarily with clay, specifically tiles of her own making for mosaic. Recently, she has incorporated found objects and collected ephemera into her mosaics, employing a resin binding rather than grout. The result is a mosaic with an added depth and multi-leveled clarity, a play on negative (formerly grouted) space.

A longtime local resident, Bruhn lives in Warrenton with her husband, 2 dogs and 3 cats.

ONE NIGHT ONLY VALENTINE

On Valentine's evening, February 14, at 8:00pm, Pier Pressure Productions (260 10th Street) presents Edward James and Diane Borcyckowski in A.R. Gurney's Pulitzer Prize winning play, Love Letters. This is the story of Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner, both born to wealth and position. As childhood friends, their lifelong correspondence begins with birthday party thank-you notes and summer camp postcards. The characters sit side by side at tables and read the notes, letters and cards - in which over nearly 50 years, they discuss their hopes and ambitions, dreams and disappointments, victories and defeats - that have passed between them throughout their separated lives.

Seats for the one-night-only performance will go on sale two hours before curtain. The tickets, $15, include Valentine sweets and coffee.