There’s something commendable about what Lauren Brickman, Raquel Powell and Britney Masari set out to do with their new play, “Hair of the Dog.” The three friends, who are both the writers and the stars of their one-act, have created a comedy with three women stuck in arrested development. While the “man-child” is a common arch-type found in many a Judd Apatow movie, it is less common to see three women in their mid-20’s behaving like egocentric slobs and wild partiers. While the show on the whole is uneven, it does have some funny punchlines and nuanced comedic performances.
The three leads are roommates and best friends who are going their separate directions. The play opens on their wrecked apartment, covered in empty liquor bottles, on the morning after a Bon Voyage party for Bridget (Masari) who is moving to England. After this night of heavy partying Bridget cannot find her passport, and when she tries to enlist the help of slobbish Sam (Brickman) and the ditzy Charlie (Powell) she comes up against two women much more interested in fighting their hangovers with breakfast Vodka. Charlie, who recently broke up with her boyfriend, is about to move in with her parents; Powell brings specificity to the role that allows Charlie to be more than just a self-absorbed party girl. Sam, the center of the show, seems incapable of making a grown-up decision and Brickman is very strong in her part—she pulls off the physical humor that comes beautifully. Masari gets the short end of the stick as the straight man who is both boring and unkind.
Most of the show's funniest moments are great one-liners that are pop-culture heavy. While these got big laughs, they didn’t necessarily help to move the plot along. This in itself wouldn’t be a problem, if it weren’t for the fact that the more emotional moments seem too drawn out and unwarranted given the flippant humor. However, perhaps where the show's weakest point was the turn toward the girls’ romances in the second half. While the male characters are humorous, they detract from the story of the relationship of the three women. The long emotional love confessions from Charlie’s ex-boyfriend and Sam’s new squeeze are boring and seem out of place. In a show about women in their 20s trying to discover what it is they actually want from lives, it is a shame that the only way two of the characters can show any growth is by committing to relationships.
All this being said, the show was part of the Strawberry Festival, a one-act festival dedicated to new works. “Hair of the Dog” showed a lot of promise, and with some revisions it could very well shape into a great show with three strong leading women characters.
The Strawberry One-Act Festival continues through Feb. 23. For more information, check out their website: [LinkButton]https://www.therianttheatre.com/index.php?n=strawberry_one-act_festival[/LinkButton]
