Jimmy Fallon Ain't Got Nothin' on Reginald Filbert

The laughter starts when Knowles' Calls it Quits hits the CTC stage

 by Steven Rummer

April 05, 2006

Winner of the Theatre Centre’s Festival of New Plays, The Night Reginald Filbert Called it Quits is a fantastic dark comedy penned by veteran local writer Rex Knowles. The play follows the depressed Filbert in his attempts to commit suicide, an act he’s been contemplating for the past nine years.  During those nine years he has been engaged to a religious fanatic fianceé who lives in a nunnery.  His life is then turned upside down, and his suicide attempt disrupted, when a down-on-her-luck escort bangs on his door, pursued by an angry client who wants to kill her.  She brings with her mishaps and a complicated, existential questioning of good, evil and the meaning of life, challenging Filbert’s empty being. The dialogue switches quickly from quick wit to complex discussion, never lingering long enough to bog the play down, but long enough to add a depth to the dark humor that is a highlight of the play.  

Performances were strong across the board. It’s exciting to walk into a performance and see actors that are willing to laugh at their own jokes on stage.  Reminiscent of a SNL sketch, you could see the actors enjoying the performance and inviting the audience to step in and enjoy it, too. The hardest part of doing comedy on stage is keeping an old routine fresh, but you could almost feel the relationships between the characters - and the comic timing flowed naturally, breathing life into Knowles’ solid script. Courtney Mansfield gave a standout performance alongside CTC veteran Josh Ruben. Ruben stepped perfectly into Filbert’s awkward, depressing life while Mansfield’s light shined in a stark contrast to the blandness of Filbert’s existence.

It’s exciting to see original, quality productions like Filbert being performed here, especially on opening night. The audience was excited and ready for a laugh, and they justly enjoyed many throughout the show. Don’t miss the chance to see this and the other Festival of New Plays runners-up at the Theatre Centre this weekend through April 15.