Theater Review: 'Smile' by Ben Souza

Review by Nancy Sasso Janis

Ben Souza had the opportunity to direct a staged reading of his new play, “Smiling: a sad, weird, neurotic comedy,” for one night only at Center Stage Theatre in Shelton. The premiere of this polished and very funny script on Saturday belied the fact that Souza is a senior at Shelton High School.

In fact, this show was written for Souza’s CAPSTONE project at his high school. The playwright notes that “the idea of the project is for it to be a ‘learning stretch’ and for students to grow/develop their skills in a certain area.”

Souza aspires to be a playwright, screenwriter, and director, so “what better project could I have chosen than writing and staging a full play with the mentorship of my friend Liz Muller.” The young man is already an award-winning writer who calls Center Stage his second home for the last ten years. He has won the Ernie DiMattia Emerging Young Artist Award for playwriting twice and has had his plays staged at the Palace Theater in Stamford and at NYU. Next fall, Souza will be attending New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts to study Dramatic Writing.

From press materials: “‘Smiling’ follows Barry Adler, a struggling comedian - trapped in his own thoughts, navigating his life and relationships in New York City.” The playwright adds, “a bit of a quarter-life crisis you could say.”

The eighty-minute play is “a relevant examination of humanity and relationships, questioning where we find true happiness in life.”

In this script, the playwright presents some mature insights that are beyond his years and shows much promise for his future in his chosen fields. There was more foul language than I expected, but it was used appropriately for the most part. With some mature themes, this is probably not a show for young children to attend. For adults, it is very funny. I loved the theatrical references, although they might have lost on some members of the audience.

Kudos to all of the members of the cast for this staged reading, presented with some ten rehearsals. While they worked with their script in hand, their acting gave wonderful life to the well-drawn characters.

Jaxon Bierne, who graduated from WestConn with a BFA in Acting last spring, led the cast in the role of Barry Adler, the neurotic comic trying to figure out life in the Big Apple. Bierne’s credits at Center Stage include Man 2 in “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” and Frank Abagnale Jr. in “Catch Me If You Can.” It was a treat to see him onstage in this new work.

The always delightful Melanie Byron was back on the Center Stage, taking on the named role of Maya, as well as covering the roles assigned to the lone ensemble woman.

Macie Cox, a junior at Sacred Heart University, portrayed the girlfriend Lily Larson. Cox’s recent credits include the Homeless Woman in the fabulous “A New Brain” at the university. Lisa Dahistrom portrayed Adler’s very religious mother in her Center Stage debut.

Hunter Smith, an actor from Milford, managed to make the most of the roles covered by one ensemble man, including a fellow comedian and Adler’s father. Smith was a riot as Trevor in “The Play That Goes Wrong” at Center Stage, played Melchior in “Spring Awakening” and played Sloan in “Murder on the Rails” on a trolley at the Shoreline Museum. Smith writes that he is “incredibly proud of Ben for this show and is really excited to be a part of this experience.”

Muller acted as the stage manager for the staged reading, and how proud she is of her mentee was apparent during her curtain speech. Souza worked with Justin Zenchuk on the great lighting design and Muller worked as the lighting board operator. Scott Sheldon operated the sound board well, providing some music for the set changes. Costumes were designed by the cast and Souza, Muller and Sheldon collaborated on the simple set design/concept.

Thank you to Center Stage for allowing me to be part of the world premiere of this new work with promise.