Theatre 40 presents Alex Goldberg’s IT IS DONE, a play that deals with three people in a roadside diner, each one possessing a specific journey in mind that doesn’t take a physical path.

Kurtis Bedford is Hank, the proprietor of a diner and bar located in an isolated part of a “middle of nowhere” location. The place receives little to no customers since it’s too far away from anywhere. A raging windstorm is causing havoc from the outside. Two mysterious travelers come in. The first one is Jonas (George Villas). He’s on some kind of escape. He’s not running away from someone, but from something that isn’t physical. He’s been having some kind of thoughts dealing with his past. He calls them dreams, but appears to be more of nightmares. As he and Hank are downing shots, in walks Ruby (Kate Whitney), She enters because her car broke down and wants to call roadside service for assistance. She joins the three and becomes interested in Jonas’ thought demons. But there is more than a basic curiosity factor that Ruby desire to know. Where did she come from? Why did Jonas arrive to a lonely diner just to ease his thoughts through booze? Is Hank just trying to get lucky with Ruby? It just might be a chance encounter between these three, or is it really just a “chance”?

This single act play composed by Alex Goldberg starts out as a basic story of three people brought together through circumstance where personal issues come out in the open, but later changes into a method that holds supernatural tendencies. These story points make this play very interesting, if not challenging. It holds a selection of plot twists that takes form as the play progresses, becoming darker in terms of mood and ambiance. The cast of three are very likable, in spite of the program’s basic temper factors. Kurtis Bedford as Hank is more of the “fall guy”. His traits speak for what he does at the diner, such as amusing himself while awaiting for customers. (It has to do with ogling through girly magazines while he “spanks his monkey”!) George Villas as Jonas is calm yet neurotic, attempting to run away from something he isn’t too sure of. And Kate Whitney as Ruby is more of a mature yet sexy woman that holds more power than one could believe. All of these characters add to a production that is amusing at first yet alters to dramatic, with a healthy blend of mystery that isn’t easy to solve–assuming that there is a notion to solve a case in its first place!

Jeff Rack, Theatre 40’s residential set decorator, directs this play that moves in a steady clip, never letting itself go from its opening scene to its taxing conclusion. The play itself may not please everyone through its result as it doesn’t necessarily hold a traditional conclusion that one could expect. But to those that appreciate its sense of mystery, it hits the mark hard!

And yes, Mr. Rack also dresses the stage set, complete with all of the stock items one can expect in an isolated diner set in that middle of nowhere, from deer heads mounted to the walls, a rotary dial pay phone affixed on the wall, to a classic style corner jukebox loaded with Hank Williams’ greatest hits!

IT IS DONE sets the mood and spirit to another production that Theatre 40 will present in repertory, a staging of a pair of classic Twilight Zone episodes originally written by Rod Serling called Rod Serling’s Stories From The Zone. That production will be the focus of a separate review that will appear in the next issue of Accessibly Live Off-Line.

Rich Borowy for Accessibly Live Off-Line
January 21, 2019