**** Recommended Sometimes I’ll see a play which will just resonate. Hammond Community Theatre’s production of Now and Then is one of those plays. As the story unfolded, I found myself totally involved with the characters, hoping things would work out for them, even as I could see the writing on the wall. The cast is really good at making the odd and unusual seem normal. 4 Spotlights
Now and Then is a romantic comedy – but it has so much more to say. Director Laura Mazzuca Toops said, “Now and Then is actually a reflection on life’s eternal issues as see through the eyes of two (or is it four?) very ordinary people, all wrapped around a Twilight Zone style storyline and set in a liminal space that could be a Chicago bar in 1981 or somewhere out on the edge of the galaxy.” I have to agree.
Now and Then is set in a neighborhood bar called Mulligan’s (Irish, of course) in 1981. It’s closing time and Jamie (Logan Edgemon), the bartender, is mopping the floor when a Man (Wayne Puchkors) stumbles in and demands a drink. When Jamie says they’re closed, he offers money – more and more money – if Jamie will have a drink with him.
A few minutes later, Jamie’s girlfriend Abby (Allie Pater) comes in. She’s just off her shift and IHOP and ready to go home – but the man wants to talk. When he offers them $2000 just to sit and drink some shots with him, they agree.
At this point in a TV drama they’d be playing some strange and/or eerie music to let us know things are going to get strange – and they do. I’m not going to give anything away, but I will say the Man asks some really personal questions – and when the Woman (Sandy Stotts) walks in, it only gets stranger.
Now and Then, which was written by Sean Grennan in 2019, premiered with the Peninsula Players in Door County, Wisconsin.
The Hammond Community Theatre production of Now and Then runs through April 13th at Beatniks on Conkey, 420 Conkey Street, Hammond. Plenty of street parking available. Running time is about one hour, 45 minutes, with an intermission. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $20 at the door. FYI (219) 852-0848 or www.hammondcommunitytheatre.org