Imagining Brad, Wing & Groove Theatre, and Ledge, Ledger and the Legend, Wing & Groove Theatre. This double feature offers a megadose of comfort for people needing to know there are others out there more pathetic than they. Imagining Brad depicts a quickly developing friendship between two women comparing stories about their very different marriages. As in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, the screenplay that made Peter Hedges famous, he presents a situation so freakish that it takes several minutes to grasp. It sounds more reasonable, though, as it’s recounted by Brad’s soft-spoken, sincere wife, who stops blabbermouth Dana Sue Kay dead in her pink satin sling-backed tracks.
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The three actors squeeze as much humor out as they can, but Elliott’s bland, repetitive dialogue just doesn’t support the story or the characters very well. And there’s no reference to a legend, so what’s that about? The show lasts only 40 minutes, but halfway through I wanted the guy (Ben Veatch) to jump. Not for any kind of voyeuristic thrill–just so the evening would end. At least it made my life look darn good by comparison.
