Photo by Ed Krieger
‘Rainbow Bridge’ directed by Mike Myers and written by Ron Nelson is a new comedy now playing at Santa Monica’s Ruskin Theatre.
When the play opens, we meet Jerry (Paul Schackman) a lawyer who is at his vet, Dr. Klein’s (Jaimi Paige) office, to put his ailing dog, Charley to sleep. Dr. Klein, however, seems more interested in seducing Jerry than euthanizing his pet. However, in all fairness to her, she does get Jerry to read a poem entitled ‘The Rainbow Bridge’ out loud to Charlie. The Rainbow Bridge is where all pets go after they die. Supposedly it’s also the place where we will meet up with them after we leave the planet. After Jerry finishes the poem, he tells Charlie he loves him and that he was a very good dog.
Unfortunately for Jerry, by reading the poem, he has brought his angry sister, Amanda (Mary Carrig) and his nasty, nagging mother, Lois (Lynne Marie Stewart) back from the dead. His sister had shot herself to death and his mother died when she slipped on Amanda’s blood. At the same time, Dr. Klein is coming onto Jerry hot and heavy, even though he lets her know that he’s happily married to his wife, Karen (Emily Jerez) and would never cheat on her.
If that’s not enough for Jerry to handle, his over-the-top obnoxious mother informs him that the only way she’ll leave is if he kills her husband’s mistress, Harriet (Mouchette Van Helsdingen), who suffers from dementia.
After non-stop badgering from his mother, Jerry realizes he has no choice but to come up with a plan to kill Harriet. It includes Dr. Klein giving him the drugs to do the job and hiring his arsonist client, Theodore (I. Emille Thomas) to burn down Harriet’s house to cover up the crime.
‘Rainbow Bridge’ is what I would call a ‘light’ comedy. There are lots of very funny lines, and you will be entertained. However, this isn’t a play that you will remember once the curtain goes down. For me, the strongest character is the sister Amanda. She is the only one that really goes through a profound change.
Tickets are $25, students, Guild Members and Seniors $20.00. For reservations call 310-397-3244 or go to the website. The play runs Fridays & Saturdays 8:00 pm and Sundays: 2:00pm. until September 17, 2017. ‘The Ruskin Theatre is located at 3000 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica CA 90405.
