Without telling you too much about the show, it depicts one winter day in the life of a family in northern Ontario, Canada in 1999. The parents and grandparents are immigrants from Italy. It’s a Sunday, which is the day that every<\/em> Italian household makes their big family dinner. And that\u2019s all you have to know.<\/p>\n (L-R in front) Stuart W. Howard, Laura James, Richard Reich, and Nick McDow Musleh, with Constance Mellors in the back. Photo by Dina Morrone, as the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n I have to admit that even though my friend Marc guffawed all evening, as did most of the opening night audience, I laughed only at the very brief lines delivered by Cecil Jennings as Darryl. His delivery is spot-on, and cracked me up every time. I also chuckled a few times at the father, played by Stuart W. Howard, when he was in a situation out of the house.<\/p>\n Another pal saw the show on a different day this week-end, and also found Moose on the Loose<\/em> to be very funny. So even though I can’t put my finger on why the other performances, as good as they are, just didn\u2019t get to me, I feel compelled to give you the popular<\/em> opinion, rather than just my own.<\/p>\n Marc told me he enjoyed it because it reminded him of his own Jewish<\/em> family. I\u2019m sure that people with boisterous fams\u2014whether they be Italian, Jewish, Greek, or whatever\u2014will be able to relate. I know that my proofreaders, Pat Marotta and Carol Rampino, would be hysterical seeing the show.<\/p>\n (L-R) Richard Reich, Nick McDow Musleh, Laura James, Stuart W. Howard, Constance Mellors, and Rick Simone-Friedland. Photo by Dina Morrone.<\/p><\/div>\n But my own Brooklyn Jewish fam was nothing like this, so I don’t have the connection to the script that Marc and many others do. Also, Mr. X\u2019s parents are real<\/em> Italian and Croatian, and lived in upper Ontario, as the Moose on the Loose<\/em> family does, and I never saw anything like this from them. So even though the semi-real-life scenario of playwright Dina Morrone seemed to resonate with the rest of the audience, perhaps not having my own similar life experiences is why it didn’t elicit the same mirth from me.<\/p>\n On opening night, there seemed to be a lot of Italian-speaking people in the audience, who understood all the references of that language. It was fun to see their amusement when those particular lines were delivered. I was just glad that I was rocking three pieces of \u201cevil eye\u201d jewelry, just in case!<\/p>\n James Lemire. Photo by Carlos R. Hernandez.<\/p><\/div>\n For me, the second act is much better than the first, most likely because by then, I was used to each character’s schtick. But the play should really end about ten minutes earlier than it does, before it gets a little preachy about immigrants and family.<\/p>\n The show begins with a man (James Lemire) wearing a hat with moose antlers and, of course, (because it’s in Canada,) holding a beer, addressing the audience. Perhaps I’m just not into whimsy enough, but I didn’t get that he was supposed to be the actual moose until his next scene\u2014I thought he was just a stereotypical Canadian! So, though he’s entertaining enough, that bit didn’t work for me.<\/p>\n But I appreciate that it seems like a lot of thought went into every aspect of the presentation, even the small things, such as the songs at the beginning of each act. The audience was into it all before even one word was uttered, which is always a good thing.<\/p>\n When we sat down and Marc saw the set, he loved everything about it. He kept pointing-out all the set decorations. When I noticed how excellent it all is, I was not surprised at all to discover that it was designed by none other than Jeff G. Rack, who seems to design\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0the good sets in town! As a matter of fact, I had just seen another show at a different small theatre in town the week before, and I had not written a review because the only nice thing I had to say about it was that I loved Jeff\u2019s very creative set!<\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n But what I appreciate the most about Moose on the Loose<\/em> is that it\u2019s a\u00a0non<\/em>-painful show. Nowadays, so many entertainments, even several Disney<\/em> ones, feel that they have to add at least some<\/em> pain into even comedies, to have it mirror real life. But we all live<\/em> in real life, so I don\u2019t need to see sadness and the like in any<\/em> show, especially in the middle of a comedy<\/em>! So I was thrilled that they didn\u2019t even kill the moose for effect here!<\/p>\n Before I tell you of the really fun and generous opening night festivities, I have to laud the lovely, accommodating personnel at this wonderfully intimate sixty-one-year-old theatre. The night I went, it was freezing in there at first.\u00a0 (And I\u2019m usually a hot one! And I was bundled-up.) So I just went out to the lobby for a second and asked uber-pleasant Front of House manager Anne Leyden to please have the air-conditioning not blow on my side. And just like that, it was done! And it was comfortable in there for the rest of the night. I thank Anne for that kindness.<\/p>\n You know that I love a festive evening, and that\u2019s what we had at Theatre West on opening night of Moose on the Loose<\/em>. When Marc and I drove past the theatre to park, we saw high-top tables, adorned with red tablecloths, spilling onto the sidewalk. And there were lights all over, with a giant stuffed moose sitting in front of the step-and-repeat. We couldn’t wait to be a part of that lucky crowd. When we walked-up, we were greeted with a giant basket of bagged chips for us to snack on pre-show. How thoughtful of them. They were available at intermission, as well. And then after<\/em> the show, we were treated to a full-on Italian buffet with cheese ravioli, delicious salad, a bit of antipasto, and desserts of brownie bites, biscotti, and best of all, moose and maple leaf shaped cookies, which were delish. (And all the napkins<\/em> also featured a moose or maple leaf on them!)<\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n On top of all that, I looked over and saw my old pal, comedienne\u00a0Elayne Boosler. We had met at a gifting suite seven years ago, and as mutual fans of each other, we bonded right away. We\u2019ve kept in a bit of touch, (mainly of the Facebook variety,) so I was thrilled when I spied her outside during the celebration. And I was glad to discover that she\u2019s one of the few who also believes that Covid is not<\/em> over. But she told me she just had<\/em> to come out to see this show because she’s a big fan of the writer, Dina Morrone. I love when women in show biz support each other!<\/p>\n So all in all, the entire evening was lovely. And as to the actual show, although it may not have been a laugh riot to me, it’s a very pleasant comedy with good actors and excellent direction (by Peter Flood) who keeps a dozen actors moving at the right times and across the entire stage. I was definitely impressed with that.<\/p>\n And don’t neglect your programs when you see it\u2014it contains several indications that the writer and producers care about the immigrant experience, and don’t all of our families come from somewhere else?<\/p>\n Moose on the Loose<\/em>\u00a0running through May 21, 2023<\/strong> MOOSE ON THE LOOSE Not to be confused with the famous children\u2019s book* of the same title,\u00a0Moose on the Loose\u00a0is a comedic play at Theatre West, where it was first produced a dozen years ago, in the Universal City area of the Valley. *[Note: When I did my usual research on the topic, by the<\/p>\n![\"(L-R](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/mOOSE-i1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Theatre West\u00a0 3333 Cahuenga Blvd.<\/strong>
\n www.theatrewest.org<\/a>\u00a0 323-851-7977<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"