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The laughs are backstage at Planet Ant

REVIEW:
'Curtain Call'
"Curtain Call" runs late night Thu.-Sat. at Planet Ant Theatre, 2357 Caniff, Hamtramck, through July 29. Tickets: $5. For information: 313-365-4948 or http://www.planetant.com.

In this gossip-obsessed world of ours, people seem more interested in the backstage shenanigans of our media-created celebrities than they are about pretty much every international crisis that's facing us today. When Brittany hiccups without Kevin at her side, it stops the presses; when Paris Hilton boards a plane with her latest boy toy, Headline News covers each and every step. But when an attention-seeking dictator throws a temper tantrum and launches several missiles into the air, Americans yawn and turn the page.
So it's not surprising that our lust for "secrets behind-the-scenes" has spawned countless TV shows and glossy magazines that exist solely to exploit our need to know every intimate detail of our favorite stars' lives – whether they want them revealed or not. Nor should it shock us when social satirists poke fun at our obsession, which is what the talented folks at Planet Ant Theatre are doing with their latest – and very funny – original late night comedy, "Curtain Call."
Written through improvisation by director Peter Jacokes and his four performers, "Curtain Call" takes us backstage before the closing night performance of the long running play, "The Friendlies." The drama off stage is often just as intriguing as what the audience sees on stage, as every thespian knows, but rarely does it almost derail the curtain from rising for the very last time.
That just might happen, however, when pent-up frustrations and tightly-held secrets are revealed just before show time.
In the span of a single hour, Jacokes and his actors create four fully-developed and totally unique characters: Louise Jeradockovich (played by Anne Faba), a self-absorbed has-been whose drinking problem caused her to sleep through her monologue the previous night; Andrea Herbert (Suzan M. Gouine), who tries way too hard to be everyone's friend; Ed Jacowski (Christian McDaniel), who says little – but when he talks, no one understands his obscure references; and superstitious Calvin Crossman (Sam Richardson), who fancies himself God's gift to women.
The show's magic comes not from the well-conceived script, but from its execution. Despite the occasional line bobbles, all four actors energetically jump into their roles with obvious skill and glee.
Faba is especially delicious. Rather than play Louise as a caricature, Faba finds the humanity of the character and has tons of fun with it.
Equally impressive is Richardson, whose development as an actor/improviser has been fun to watch over the past few years. It's a performance that Thespis, the Spirit of Theater, would appreciate!

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