Playwright Peter Quilter’s one act comedy “Step By Step”, a tale about how three women honor their friend who died recently by climbing a mountain, is running now through August 10 at Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables.
While the plot does not seem funny on the surface, the story of how the three friends interact with each other while climbing a mountain is hilarious. Monica (actress Anna Lise Jensen), Paula (Kareema Khouri) and Sophie (Elizabeth Price) get together for an annual two day trek up a mountain without the guidance of their friend Rebecca, who passed away recently.
The three women learn that,without the guidance of Rebecca,an orderly and fun two day trip up a mountain becomes an ordeal, confusing and problematic as the women are continually complaining and quarreling.
The interchange between the characters brings out hearty laughs for the audience. There are many comic one-liners expressed by the three actresses that are reminiscent of the humor of past television situation comedies featuring three women, such as “Designing Women” and “Golden Girls”.
The key to the success of “Step By Step” is that each of the actresses portray distinct characters who share different viewpoints of why they are together climbing a mountain as well as how Monica, Paula and Sophie are coping with their lives.
From left to right: Actresses Elizabeth Price (Sophie), Anna Lise Jensen (Monica) and Kareeman Khouri (Paula) meet for their journey in the one act comedy “Step By Step:, running now though August 10 at Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables.
Monica is eagerly planning to marry her second husband Graham, but still pines for ex-husband Greg. Paula, who is black and overweight, rants and raves how difficult it is for her to climb the mountain and Sophie is a lesbian whose partner left her and who is grumbling though the two day journey, moping about being single..
Each of the characters use humor to criticize each other that leads to many laughs. For example, when Paula learns that she could have eaten a lot of snacks if the women chose to do their journey on another path with a cafe, she begins a ten minute comic delivery that highlights the play.
Monica had her best laughs in a scene in which she shares a tent with the other women drawing pictures of all the men she had liaisons with. The emotional delivery of the lines between the three women in the tent scene helps Monica come to a dramatic revelation concerning her upcoming marriage to Graham.
Sophie can’t get over her breakup and becomes more neurotic as the journey continues. Her best scene comes in a dialogue when Paula says that Sophie is on the spectrum. Sophie replies “Everybody is on the spectrum. I’s just on it a little bit extra.”
From left to right: Actresses Elizabeth Price (Sophie), Kareema Khouri (Paula) and Anna Lise Jensen (Monica) discuss their journey together in the one act comedy “Step By Step” running now though August 10 at Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables.
Along with the humor, thee are some dramatic overtones in the play, especially concerning how the three women miss Rebecca and how they bond together in spite of their differences.
Jensen, Khouri and Price were superb in creating daffy but very likeable characters and moved the story at a fast pace under the direction of Actors Playhouse Artistic Director David Arisco. Also to be credited is sound designer Reidar Sorenson, with musical interludes between scenes with the songs “Get By With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Hallelujah” and “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” that added sentiment to the play. Also adding to the production offstage is lighting director Eric Nelson, scenic designer Brandon M. Newton and costume designer Ellis Tillman.
Playwright Peter Quilter’s one act comedy “Step By Step” runs now though August 10 at Actors Playhouse, 280 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays with additional matinee shows on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets range from $50-$85. For tickets and more information, go to actorsplayhouse.org or call 305-444-9293.
