BRIGHT IDEAS
presented by ONSTAGE in Bedford
Audience Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours including one 15 minute intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Showing: Not Available
ASL Performance: Not Available
Volume Level: Comfortable.
Noises and Visuals to Prepare For: Murder by poison, a gun is pointed but not fired.
Everyone wants the best for their child, right? But how far would you go to ensure they get the best? Eric Coble’s Bright Ideas takes this concept to the extreme as Shakespeare’s Macbeth collides with affluent suburban parents.
Joshua and Genevera are trying to get their 3-year-old son Mac into a good preschool, but Mac’s first on the waiting list for Bright Ideas Early Childhood Development Academy- the one that’s considered “the best,” and Joshua and Genevera are starting to panic. When Genevera finds out her co-worker Denise got her son in by making a large donation towards the new swimming complex, she and Joshua decide to invite her over for dinner...and kill her. If you’re familiar with Macbeth, you know this is only the beginning.
Genevera is brilliantly played by Libby Hawkins. She makes us adore her in the beginning when she’s simply concerned about her child, and then we gradually become scared of her as she becomes more and more power-hungry. Hawkins has beautifully expressive eyes that easily reflect her emotions in the intimate space at ONSTAGE in Bedford, and her facial expressions are perfection. She gives a solid performance that made me want to see her in more shows.
Alex Wade plays her husband Joshua, who is encouraging at the beginning of it all and slowly drifts into a Lady Macbeth type of madness, aided by lots of Jack Daniels. Wade effectively lets us see his despair as his wife goes off the rails.
The talented ensemble consisting of *Hannah Bell, Cameron Hilliard, and *Bradford Reilly handles the Herculean task of taking on all the rest of the characters in the play. *Bell has the most range with her roles, including the doomed Denise and various Bright Ideas teachers and parents. Lots of very fun characters here! This is not to take anything away from Hilliard or *Reilly, who shine as the stereotypical Lynzie and Ross respectively. They have great chemistry as a couple and create other unique characters throughout. Special kudos to *Reilly for his Chipmunk Mascot to Ross and back again quick changes.
Director Joe Chapa has put together a really entertaining evening of Theatre. Since there was no set designer mentioned, I must assume the incredibly creative set was his doing, aided by Michael B. Winters’ fabulously effective lighting design and Kevin Brazil’s wonderful, spooky sound design.
Bright Ideas is a lot of fun, especially if you like darker comedies that happen to be “Shakespeare adjacent” (to steal a phrase from a colleague). The show only runs one more weekend, so be sure to get out and see it before it’s gone forever! You won’t be disappointed.
There’s NOTHING like live Theatre!
Carol M. Rice
* indicates Dallas Theatre Journal Access Artist
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