Here are some items you rarely see in July: candy corn, witch’s hats, trick-or-treaters, and gorilla masks. But the Unusual Cabaret in Bar Harbor is in a time warp — if not a bit of a mind warp — with Jeffrey Jones’ ghoulish comedy “Seventy Scenes of Halloween,” which runs through Aug. 18.
An episodic collection of scenes that take place randomly between a young couple on Halloween night, the show dashes through moments that are pure comedy. Then it skips through others that ask the BIG questions of life, such as who are the demons within each of us and what are we spiritually hungering for?
It’s hard to tell whether the piece is entertainment or therapy. But however you see it, it’s a bagful of fun. Not exactly good, clean fun. Not let’s-take-the-kids fun. But the kind of fun you might have at an adult amusement park that offers a ride called “the haunted house of modern dilemmas.” There’s a sprinkle of David Lynch-type weirdness, a splattering of Stephen King-type horror, and a dollop of I’m-OK-but-you’re-kind-of-strange philosophy in this show.
There’s no way to tell if you’re in the midst of a murder, a nightmare or a practical joke. There are so many different types of growls, snorts, snarls, chants and moans that you may eventually find yourself wondering just what type of strange noise you might come out with if someone threw a sheet over your head. Speaking of heads, you might actually find yourself moaning a tad anyway because the action takes place all over and even outside of the restaurant, which means that your neck gets a thorough workout trying to take in every scene. But it’s a nice change from the more typical stationary lot of being an audience member.
Part cartoon, part sit-com, “Seventy Scenes” — and there are just about 70 scenes in the 90-minute production — has unrestrained energy, thanks to the directorial suavity of Jeff Goode. He creates the most bizarre situations and takes them right up to the line of bad taste. Things that might make you scowl or wretch in regular life — such as someone making an uncooked, headless chicken carcass dance — Goode transforms into opportunities for guffaws. You think, “Yuck, this is gross, this is so off-color,” but before you know it, you’ve covered your mouth with embarrassment because you are gurgling with giggles.
Goode has double cast several of the roles in the five-person show. However, Johnny Kaufmann always plays the lead male (Jeff), which suits his physical, high-pitch acting style perfectly. Kerry Schryba always plays the beast, and is about as beastly as you’d want — thank you very much — in a small, dark room. Rebekkah Garwood is the ghost and oversees the scene progressions in the show. Flipping light switches, doing sound effects and keeping the whole crazy anti-plot moving is a ghastly task, but Garwood floats through it in a spirited fashion.
Hannah Gale played the lead female (Joan) and Cheryl Snodgrass played the witch in the reviewed performance, and were ghastly funny. Laura Smiley and Catherine LeClair take the roles (respectively) on alternate nights.
The production is in keeping with Unusual Cabaret standards — lively, outrageous and unlikely to be seen anyplace else nearby — especially in July.
“Seventy Scenes of Halloween” will be performed 9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday through Aug. 18 at the Unusual Cabaret at 14 1/2 Mount Desert St. in Bar Harbor. For reservations, call 288-3306.
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