Monsters of the American Cinema
Produced by: Prologue Theatre Company Written by: Christian St. Croix Director: Jason Tamborini Assistant Director: Dylan Arredondo Fight and Intimacy Direction: Sierra Young Set Design: Nadir Bey Projection Design: Hailey LaRoe (Helen Hays Nominated) Lighting Design: Helen Garcia-Alton Costume Design: Johnna Presby Sound Design: Dan Deiter
Full Program can be found HERE
* Photos by Chris Banks and Hailey LaRoe
A complex story about grief, family, love, and all the messiness of life. Set at an old drive in movie theatre in a consrervitive town in rural California, a gay black stepdad bonds with his stepson over their mutual love of old monster movies while processing their grief over the loss of their beloved husband/ father. Peter “pup” navigates adolescence and horrifying nightmares. While Remy, his step dad, figures out how to keep the drive in open, and how to continue to live life and care for Pup after the death of his partner.
Reviews
“Tamborini and company strike a chord of authenticity in the portrayal of Remy and Pup’s mutual movie love. Seated together on the roof of their trailer, they watch their favorites at the drive-in, represented with well-timed clips projected on the two cinema-size screens surrounding the stage.
Not only unreeling pointed beats from Dracula, Frankenstein, and Creature from the Black Lagoon (all of which are included in Prologue’s complementary Classic Movie Series), the play considers everyday monsters, too, real and imagined. Remy and Pup might have very different, equally compelling reasons to relate to outcasts like Frankenstein’s Monster.”
“This is one production where the set, projections, light, and sound do a ton of heavy lifting. They succeed tenfold in not only bringing this pseudo drive-in world to life but also further elucidating the tension as well as the love that exists between the characters. The production team of Bey, LaRoe, Lighting Designer Helen Garcia-Alton, and Sound Designer Dan Deiter are a force unto themselves here and truly help to make the performance what it is”
“part drive-in movie, part theatrical stage (thanks to Nadir Bey’s well-thought-out set design and Hailey LaRoe’s ultra-authentic projection design), Prologue transports theatre goers”