Gather: Surprising Stories & Other Mischief
Reviewed by Katie Buenneke
Pasadena Playhouse
Through June 22
Gather: Surprising Stories & Other Mischief is an unwieldy title for a theatrical piece. Then again, Gather is an unwieldy theatrical piece. It’s not immediately clear what the piece is, and the answer doesn’t come readily upon further reflection. At first, it seems like it might be Theatre for Young Audiences, albeit not labeled as such — after all, the runtime is on the shorter end, and there’s a fairy tale sensibility to the beginning of the piece. But despite indications to the contrary, this is not a show for children.
There’s not a specific plot or through-line to Gather; rather, it’s a collection of short stories, evocative of fairy tales, fables, and short literary fiction like you might find in the New Yorker, all created by John C. Reilly and Patrick Murphy (no writer is credited). Some of the stories are light and simple, but as the show progresses, the themes get darker — eternal life and death, betrayal, vindictiveness, and dismemberment start to figure into the narratives. The stories don’t all fit into one category, as too many lack either a sense of lightness that comes with fairy tales, or a moral, as one would expect from a fable.
The cast works well as an ensemble, playing off of each other to create the semblance of one living, breathing organism, rather than 10 actors. This is especially impressive given the elephant in the room: John C. Reilly. An actor as well known for his buddy comedies with Will Ferrell as he is for his dramatic turns in more serious movies, it’s hard to imagine that anyone in the audience is ignorant of who he is, and it’s impossible to pretend that he’s not the sole reason everyone is gathered there. He’s a team player, never hogging the spotlight, but there’s a strange lack of subtlety to both his and the rest of the cast’s performances, which is especially striking given the small theater the show is in.
Of course, all art is subjective, and it’s quite possible others may enjoy the show more than I did, but I struggled to find a reason that Murphy (who also directs) and Reilly gathered us all there. Perhaps the idea is storytelling for the sake of storytelling, which is well and good, but whether it’s a fault of the nature of the stories themselves or the staging, nothing about the evening feels necessary. It’s all there, and happening, and fine enough, but I was left craving more.
Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; through Jun. 22. https://PasadenaPlayhouse.org. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
