Nights of Noir
By Stan Jenson
Film Noir is a cinematic term used to describe the black-and-white crime dramas of the 40’s and 50’s, epitomized by The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep. Playwright Kasey Wilson has lovingly skewered the style in a pair of one-act plays, currently showing at The Attic Theatre and Film Center. Double entendres, campy character names and snappy retorts are foundation for the evening, and virtually no stone is left unturned in their search for laughs.
The Attic is a wonderful little performance company that has nurtured growth in stage and film skills by providing a safe space for actors, directors, playwrights and technicians to explore their craft. In last year’s one-act play festival, four plays were selected for limited productions out of 187 submissions. Wilson’s play Marked for Love was awarded 2nd Prize by the festival’s judges, as well as winning two Audience Choice Awards: Best Performance Ensemble, and Best Play. The one-act followed the adventures of a private gumshoe named Bolt as he explored the mysterious, murky and extremely silly underbelly of the 1940’s Los Angeles crime scene. The viewers whooped for more, and the playwright responded with a sequel, entitled “Of Dicks and Dames” (with “dicks” being noir slang for private detectives, of course). This year, the Attic decided to present both one acts as an evening’s entertainment, collectively called Nights of Noir!
In addition to writing the two plays, Wilson has directed and designed them, and hosts the evening as her alter ego, Burlesque Goddess Honey Ima Home. She has even promised some traditional burlesque sketches between the two shows, with different specialty acts each week.
Gay audiences will recognize character actor Drew Drogue, who appears in both plays. He has appeared in numerous episodes of Reno 911, and was a regular on the short-lived series Halfway Home on Comedy Central. They might also recognize his voice from the Internet cartoon series, Planet Unicorn. Drogue moved to LA about a decade ago to try his hand at acting. He attended a performance by the improvisational comedy company, The Groundlings. He was delighted by the performance, but terrified by the concept of performing without a script. He knew that the company had nurtured many SNL regulars and other familiar actors, so he forced himself to take a class. Little by little, he broke down his inhibitions, and ended up loving the art form. He appeared in several of their shows, and three years ago, started teaching for them full-time.
When Wilson asked him to appear in Nights of Noir, he was delighted. He had seen the winning one-act the previous year, and described his recollection as “The Maltese Falcon” meets “Naked Gun.” He assured us that gay audiences would be especially fond of Wilson’s gay sensibility in her writing, and love her word play; plenty of mystery, intrigue, insanity, and or course, dick jokes.
“Nights of Noir!” plays at The Attic Theatre and Film Center, 5429 W. Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, through June 27. Tickets are $15, and can be purchased at 323-960-1055, or online at www.plays411.com/nightsofnoir.