Last weekend Cam took me to see a play at the Pasadena Playhouse called Topdog/Underdog. Terrible title for a great show. I had been to this place once before and liked it. Lots of leg room so you don't have to get up every time someone passes. This is about two brothers, Lincoln and Booth (I know, right?) who have very honked up lives. Lincoln works dressing as Abraham Lincoln at a theme park of sorts where guests get to assassinate him all day. Booth steals everything he can and wants Lincoln to teach him how to be as good as Lincoln once was at three card monte. Lincoln says he does not touch the cards anymore. Booth spends most of his time talking shit to Lincoln about how he is divorced, lives with Booth on the couch, and isn't as good at three card monte as he used to be. I mean, this dude just needles him every chance he gets!
Lincoln comes home every day just feeling like ass while Booth talks about his lady named Grace who he gets gifts for. By the way, we never see her. This entire show is just these two and its great. One night while Booth is sleeping Lincoln goes into his old routine he would use that Booth has been trying to emulate the entire show. Lincoln attempts to show him how its all done eventually. After work one day Lincoln says that he is being replaced by a wax statue. They do some rehearsals to save Lincoln's job by having him act more dramatic when he is shot. This does not go well. They start talking about their childhoods and how their mother left them and then their father did and gave them $500 each as inheritance. Lincoln spent his immediately while Booth saved his. Lincoln comes home all excited. He is playing three card monte again and still good at it. Booth is mad that Grace never showed up for dinner and starts egging Lincoln on again. Lincoln plays a game with him and Booth thinks he is taking it easy on him.
They decide to gamble the $500 Lincoln won versus Booth's inherited $500. Lincoln ends up beating and berating Booth and making fun of the fact that Booth never even checked to see if their mother actually left him $500 in the rolled up stocking. Lincoln plans to open the roll of money and count it when Booth reveals that after saying he beat Grace for being with another man that he actually shot her. Lincoln tries to give the money back and Booth tells him to open it. Booth then shoots Lincoln in the back of the neck killing him. As his body lies on the floor Booth starts talking shit and making fun of Lincoln for taking his inheritance. Then he collapses screaming. The end. It was an abrupt crazy ending but it fit somehow. In terms of acting I especially enjoyed the actor that portrayed Lincoln. He was charismatic as fuck.
Brandon Michael Hall as Lincoln
Brandon Gill as Booth
Click here for previous Curtain Call.
No comments:
Post a Comment