Sometimes a play off-off Broadway is a powerhouse production, a tour-de-force, a watershed event.
Tiffany Antone's
In the Company of Jane Doe is
not one of those events.
It's not that the play is without merit, but it felt a bit immature. Perhaps that is my dis-taste for wink-and-nod plots. Or perhaps it was just that the work is a bit immature -- and by immature I don't mean kids were running around the stage -- but rather the dialogue and plot seemed like it was written for a high school or college play-writing competition - unrefined, quickly thrown together with a few gimmicks, and not overly deep, meaningful, or thought-provoking.
Ok, it's a comedy - I don't want to bring us all down too much here. There were quite a few stand-out performances by the
actors - and sometimes that can make up for plot deficiencies.
Jason Guy (Dr. Snafu) stands out head and shoulders above the rest with his physically funny and intellectually intelligent comedy - not to mention his pitch-perfect comic timing. Adorably cute Tasmanian newcomer,
Robert Maxwell, made his New York Debut with an incredible
American accent as Samuel Spritz (and he got the chance to let his true voice out as a doctor in the ensemble!). And
Francesca Day magnificently pulls off a better Fran Drescher than Fran Drescher herself! Rounding out the cast are
Marta Keursten (Jane),
Joe Stipek (Doctor),
Elizabeth Neptune (Doctor),
Brooke Berry (Dr. Annabelle), and
Sarah Brill (Jenny).
