Chemistry: it’s gotta be there from the get-go. Whether folks brought together for business or pleasure, whether for a little or a lot of both, the only way things will work out just fine, just jim-dandy, comes down to chemistry.
And that’s what the cast of Skin Flick, Magnus Theatre’s fun and feisty season finale, has in spades. Okay, not spades; let’s make that hearts, and innocent ones at that.
Really! Who wakes up one morning when the chips are seemingly down and decides to get involved in porn? Best ask Alex, or Daphne, or maybe Rollie. Better yet, ask Jill. But don’t ask Byron. He’d only blush, get flustered, perhaps not be able to deliver on his part in the flick.
Really! Who wakes up one morning when the chips are seemingly down and decides to get involved in porn? Best ask Alex, or Daphne, or maybe Rollie. Better yet, ask Jill. But don’t ask Byron. He’d only blush, get flustered, perhaps not be able to deliver on his part in the flick.
Norm Foster’s Skin Flick is a hoot of a porn-shoot with enough innocence to send it straight to the moon and the stars.
In real life, Brian Young doesn’t shoot porn. But as Alex? Well, no sir he’s just the half-jittery camera guy. Who’s got all his angles covered, you bet’cha.
Sure, Scott Maudsley has his tall good looks goin’ for him right off the bat.
But it’s the shy modesty, the unsure sincerity and utter honesty he brings to his character Byron, the co-star of the skin flick Byron doesn’t even realize he’s been bookie’d into until it’s too late, that absolutely steals the show.
Sure, Scott Maudsley has his tall good looks goin’ for him right off the bat.
But it’s the shy modesty, the unsure sincerity and utter honesty he brings to his character Byron, the co-star of the skin flick Byron doesn’t even realize he’s been bookie’d into until it’s too late, that absolutely steals the show.
But hey, how can he help it alongside the likes of a lady named Jill. Liz Gilroy’s natural fire-cracker persona is perfectly aligned to play and rub up against her handsome porn co-star.
In just her first scene (or two) she convinces us that any down-on-her-luck actress with gumption and a true heart beating inside her breast can turn any circumstance to her advantage if she’s willing to take a chance, a risk that pays off in spades, oops make that hearts!
In just her first scene (or two) she convinces us that any down-on-her-luck actress with gumption and a true heart beating inside her breast can turn any circumstance to her advantage if she’s willing to take a chance, a risk that pays off in spades, oops make that hearts!
Well, it’s been said that behind every great man stands a great woman. Just ask Rollie. He’ll tell you. Anne Marie Massicotte’s Daphne and Vince Metcalfe’s Rollie clearly have been in love as innocently now as when they first met; since they both first knew everything and nothing one about the other.
Massicotte’s swoop into the storyline does the playwright credit: no foolin’ around here guys, she says: this is business.
But oh how convincingly she conveys her abiding love to her better half, Rollie. Here Metcalfe as the mild and droll narrator doesn’t mind his part in the entire affair, not in the least.
Lindsay Westbrook’s set is gorgeous. Classic good taste with hints of opulence: marbled damask-rose wallpaper, oak doors and trim, rich brocade curtains, an ornamental stained glass window on one wall, proud metal tall ship on the other.
Mervi Agombar’s costumes, bathrobes aside, eye-catchingly help convey the storyline. Metcalfe’s quaint argyle vest over a starched dress shirt and burgundy bow-tie pair up nicely beside Massicotte’s chic business wear and flirty frocks.
Liz is quite the knockout whether in her singing telegram outfit that’s seen better days, or a tight denim getup that accentuates every curve, or that nurse’s uniform one usually doesn’t recognize at the doctor’s office.
All’s well that ends well as Magnus winds up another great season with Skin Flick, on until April 24. Shed any day-to-day worries you might have and go see it!
