Britt Plunkett runs his forearm across his head, pushing sweat off his brow. “I actually took a picture of the thermostat,” he says. “I just had to record it: 99 degrees.”For Paul Rudd, the decision to star in Jay Roach’s new comedy, “Dinner for Schmucks,” was an easy one. “I thought the script was really funny,” he says. “That was it. It was kind of a no-brainer.” Of course Rudd, who’s built an impressive resume of smart comedies, was just as enamored of the man behind the camera. Though Lilith Fair returned from an 11-year hiatus to a very different musical landscape, it is one that Sarah McLachlan and Co. helped lay the blueprints for more than a decade ago.Although facts on the famed Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding, which is rumored to happen this weekend, are tighter than Hillary Clinton’s smile, some details have leaked out. Sources report that groom Marc Mezvinsky has “hurt” his father’s family by not inviting them to the wedding (Ed Mezvinsky pleaded guilty in 2002 to swindling investors out of $10 million.He may play the part of a high-end gigolo in “The Extra Man,” but offscreen, Kevin Kline continues to be quite a charmer.
REVIEW. Attention comic book geeks, your fantasy girls are appearing at a place that is better than a stuffy convention. Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Storm and even merely mortal Lois Lane can all be found in Phoenix Theatre’s uproarious production of “The Superheroine Monologues.”
In a format not unlike the uber-girl power “Vagina Monologues,” “Superheroine” chronicles the creation of some of the world’s most powerful women, even if they’re only found in comic books.
It all begins innocently enough when a soldier, Steve Trevor, accidentally parachutes onto Paradise Island, a remote tropical locale where “no man has set foot” for 1,000 years. Since it’s believed on this island that men “kill, they rape, they repeatedly get more for the same jobs,” its inhabitants hatch a plan to get rid of the enemy.
After a brief contest and a delightful group sing of “Leaving on an Invisible Jet Plane,” Princess Diana escorts the soldier back to the States. Soon after arriving, the newly man-crazy princess finds herself embroiled in a crusade to end World War II. With little more than beauty, bracelets and an uncanny ability to find danger lurking around any corner, Diana morphs into Wonder Woman, the first in a long illustrious line of “Superheroines.”
One by one, her successors tell tales of their own creations in a campy, humorous 90-minute production filled with silliness, laughter and great wit. Written by local actors/playwrights Rick Park and John Kuntz, “Superheroine” lags only when it tries to get serious.
Storm’s lack of children isn’t terribly interesting, but tales of Lois Lane’s unrequited love for Superman and subsequent admission that he really is “faster than a speeding bullet” are comic gold.
The supremely talented ensemble knows its way around a comedy, earning guffaws for their impeccable delivery and timing. Amanda Good Hennessey and Jackie McCoy deliver especially sparkling turns in this glittering camp-fest.
But the real star of this production is its director, scenic designer and costumer, Greg Maraio. In a veritable one-man tour-de-force, Maraio proves that you can do it all even if you don’t posses the superhuman strength found in the women of “The Superheroine Monologues.”
‘The Superheroine Monologues’
Through April 26
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
949 Comm. Ave., Boston
MBTA: Green B Line to Pleasant Street
$20-$25, 866-811-4111
www.superheroinemonologues.com
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In the July MMMpod, Young Veins talk about breaking away from Panic! at the Disco, Keith Lockhart talks about Buckwheat Zydeco throwing the Boston Pops for a loop, Zooey Deschanel talks about how Roy Orbison inspired a She & Him song, Derek Miller of Sleigh Bells talks about how awesome Funkadelic is, and we talk about how awesome Jimmy Cliff is, who in turn talks about Sam Cooke and divine intervention. An explosive show for July! Oh yeah, and we also test your knowledge of America songs in the MMMPod medley.
