F*#king Girls – Isn’t It Bromantic? (FRIGID New York 2011)

Karen Tortora-Lee — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:35:20 +0000

F*#king Girls featuring Ben Thompson & Carolyn Gilliam (Photo by Andrew Bisdale)

The Bromance has come into its own and is now permeating black box theatre – behold F*#cking Girls the new Bromantic Comedy brought to you by Ben Thompson and Bro. I mean, and Co. Well, both really. Written by Thompson and directed by Paul Leopold this short, sweet, easy-to-digest play doesn’t cover new ground, but it sure does repave the familiar road admirably.

Set up like every typical comedy of its type F*#cking Girls is comprised of one good guy and one bad guy – or rather one faithful (borderline emotionally pathetic) guy and one cool (that would mean promiscuous) dude. James (Jon Bass) hails from Column A; as the lights come up we find James drowning his sorrows over the demise of his long-term relationship. Quick to step in is his best Bro Mike (Brendan McCarthy) who offers up a simple plan full of the hi-jinks that make for a laugh-packed short play: James needs to sleep his way through all the ex girlfriends who didn’t give it up to him the first time around.

We then watch as a (seemingly) endless parade of gals – each a different shade of crazy – enter through James’ front door. Some are more eager than others, some trysts are more successful than others but none seem to be able to cure him of his need to continue to love the gal that got away. The girls don’t matter, really. In fact, they’re all played by the same talented actress, Carolyn Gilliam who not only does a majority of the heavy lifting in this play, but also shows her wonderful range as she continually bursts through the door awash in a new persona. From the all-talk-no-walk Femme Fatale to the stumbling party gal to the creepy stalker to the spiritual poser who enters with her own trio of midgets (puppets, actually), each character is fully formed and delivered with wonderfully comedic emphasis. As characters, however, these gals are so stereotypical that it’s no wonder James is so hung up on his latest ex who seems to be the least volatile of the bunch.

It’s not about the girls though, they’re just a device. Ultimately, F*#cking Girls is really about the guys. Not about learning to weather a breakup, get over a bad patch or deal with heartbreak. It neither honestly addresses these topics nor leads to any satisfying conclusions to that end. It’s not meant to. F*#cking Girls is a celebration of the friendship of two young men – and to that end it showcases them perfectly.

The play contains moments of pure comic genius largely due to the perfect delivery and flawless comic timing of the two male leads; not to mention the obvious chemistry they give off, worthy of any great comedy team such as Crosby and Hope or the more contemporary Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. It’s easy to see that Bass and McCarthy trust each other; a few false steps and some scenarios might come crashing down but these guys pull it off and send it soring to a big payoff of laughs.

~~~

F*#king Girls

Written by Ben Thompson & Directed by Paul Leopold
Presented by My Lieges Brooklyn, NY
The Kraine Theater (95 East 4th Street) $10

Wed 2/23 @ 6pm, Sat 2/26 @ 4pm, Wed 3/2 @ 7:30pm, Sat 3/5 @ 1pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 5:30pm

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 will run February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: F*#king Girls

Karen Tortora-Lee — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:51:26 +0000

Welcome back to another installment of FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A! We’ll be running these throughout February, so be sure to check back to read all about the great shows that will be taking part in the festival. Also – don’t miss the winner-take-all game of Rock Paper Scissors! Today’s Q&A is withBen Thompson, Playwright of F*#king Girls.

A hilarious and misguided romantic fantasy about a young man “sleeping” his way through his ex-girlfriends en route to find true love, with a couple of major speed bumps along the way.

F*#king Girls featuring Carolyn Gilliam & Ben Thompson (Photo by Andrew Bisdale)

answers by Ben Thompson, Playwright

Antonio Asks: What makes FRIGID such a warm and welcoming experience for your production?
The Frigid Festival offers me my very first opportunity to have a full production of my play mounted, and for that Frigid will always hold a very warm place in my heart. I’m very excited and eager to be a part of this festival and be given such an opportunity to share my artistic voice, especially here in New York City.

Diánna Asks: What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?
This play is a lot of fun and I actually found myself laughing out loud while writing it. I suppose what drew me to write it is just how confusing and absurd love can be… and how seriously we tend to take it. I can be particularly guilty of taking myself too seriously and that’s usually when I get myself into the biggest messes. It’s not until I step back and look at my actions that I realize how much of a total fool I’ve been. I’ve made some of the biggest mistakes in my life when I’ve tried to fight or deny an answer that is right in front of me, staring me in the face. That being said, I’d like audiences to walk away from this play knowing that when you’re happy, be happy and don’t worry about how happy you could be.

Karen Asks: That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
The title is most often your first encounter with a play and I wanted mine to make a statement. We’re not pulling our punches in this production.

Stephen Asks: You must have a favorite part of your show. What makes it your favorite?
I’d say Soriah (one of James’ girlfriends). I’ve never dated anyone with an entourage of hippie midgets. But I think I’ve come dangerously close.

Lina Asks: How much of your show was inspired by true events?
I’d say about 20 percent. All of the women are based on real people, although in most cases their personalities have been greatly enlarged. I took the essence of girls I’ve known and ran from there.

THM Bonus Question: If you could play a virtual game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with another FRIGID Show which show would you take on? And what would you throw?

I’d take on I Love you (We’re F*#cked) for obvious reasons. I’d throw the scissors. I always throw scissors.

Thanks F*#king Girls - for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially SCISSORS. Here’s how you’ve stacked up so far:

Challenger Year of the Slut threw SCISSORS = TIE
Challenger Yippie threw PAPER = YOU CUT THEM TO RIBBONS!!! WINNER!!
You Challenge I Love You (We’re F*#cked) and they DIDN’T THROW! = YOU WIN AGAIN!!!

You emerge the champion – two (and a half) out of three times!!!! DING DING DING!

This is how it works in the crazy world of the VIRTUAL ROCK PAPER SCISSORS TOURNAMENT!

Meanwhile, for the rest of you – don’t forget to check out F*#king Girls!