Present time, Christmas Eve. A dingy dilapidated great room of Grandma Cathy's (Roxie Lucas) run down Victorian home. Furniture is completely outdated and a big picture of a Native American chief hangs crookedly next to the entrance to the kitchen. Get the idea? A wooden table sits in the center of the stage with several chairs around it. Brett (Kevin O'Donnell) is relaxed on the couch nest to a small stack of Christmas gifts. This is the house of Jen's (Brandi Nicole Wilson) grandma, who is married to Brett.
We learn immediately that according to granny's will, she will inherit the house and is not really thrilled with the idea, since her sister Leigh (Katie Webber) is due to inherit two million dollars. Leigh is married to Carl (James Wirt) a wimpy, nerdy guy. One more character is Ray (Adam Mucci) a wheelchair bound ex-marine whose disability stems from the Vietnam War. He is the brother of Brett.
Everyone wants to get their inheritance as quick as possible and the solution is to off grandma. From the moment grandma Cathy enters, we get that she has a "potty" mouth and personality to match. The question is, who is going to do the deed? Well, why not have the stronger grandson-in-law persuade the nerdy grandson-in-law to kill her off? Especially when you have a funny character to boot?
But then there is a hitch. It appears that grandma is a cougar. Ray and her fall in love, set to marry and now the will gets changed. Perhaps grandma should be offed before the wedding?
So, that's the story. Roxie Lucas and James Wirt get the funniest characters and that's what stands out in this outrageous play written by Brian Gianci and produced by Robert Nicotra and John Dapolito.
I attended the opening night performance with another writer, Mark Lord who wrote: "Here's my take on "Let's Kill Grandma This Christmas:" Overall, I enjoyed it quite a lot. But I thought the play had a hard time deciding what it was supposed to be: a comedy, a satire, a commentary on the state of the world today? Regardless, it did keep the laughs coming and maintained interest because of its many twists and turns. Certain aspects were predictable, such as the ultimate fate of Grandma Cathy. Other developments were really far-fetched, most particularly the relationship that develops between Cathy and Ray. The performances were uniformly good, most notably those of Roxie Lucas as the potty-mouthed Cathy and James Wirt as the nerdy, abused Carl. The set was quite realistic and benefited from great details."
Let's Kill Grandma This Christmas is being performed at the Theatre at St. Clement's, 423 W. 46th St. until January 6th. In a nut shell...you need a twisted mind like mine to enjoy the humor. www.letskillgrandmatheplay.com
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