PipeDream Theatre presents 10 straight scenes of laughs, squirms

CORVALLIS - "This is possibly the most hilarious play that any of us have ever been in," said Jen Waters at a recent rehearsal for "An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein," a collection of 10 scenes dreamed up by American Renaissance man Shel Silverstein, a prolific poet, songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books until his death in 1999.

Water stumbled across "The Best Daddy" one of the scenes in the play last summer. "I just fell in love with it," she said.

In the scene, a father presents his young daughter with a pony for her birthday. She's delighted at first.

"Why is he lying down?" she asks.

"He's dead," answers the father. "It's a hell of a thing to have to tell your daughter on her birthday."

It may not sound like funny material, but Silverstein had an amazing knack for finding the most perceptive and original perspectives in the most mundane events and concepts.

"A lot of it is just sort of the absurd nature of Shel

Silverstein," Waters said.

Like millions of kids, Waters grew up a fan of Silverstein's unique brand of poetry and prose, reading books such as "Where The Sidewalk Ends," "A Light in the Attic" and "The Giving Tree."

It's probably best not to expect anything quite so tame, however. Silverstein seems to have used this play as a sounding board for some of his most outlandish and provocative ideas.

"It's not poetry," laughed Waters. Although, there is a scene where two prostitutes vie for attention with a sing-song rhyme.

Waters decided to direct and produce the play with PipeDream Theatre, a company that she and Amaya Egusquiza co-founded several years ago for a successful run of "Dating and Mating in Modern Times."

The cast, which also includes Rebecca Douglas, Eric Nepom, Katherine Otten, Chuck Skinner, Simon Tatom and Ajai Tripathi, has been practicing since February for the one weekend of shows which will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 1-2, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at the Corvallis High School Black Box Theatre.

The appeal of Silverstein's brand of comedy becomes apparent right from the first scene when Harvey (played by Skinner) works up the courage to say something really important to his wife and it is: "You're turning into a bag lady."

The suspected hoarder Sylvia (played by Waters) is forced to reveal the contents of her shopping bag and purse, which includes a single tennis shoe and a bowl of cooked oatmeal, among other items. But, the real revelation comes mid-way through her defensive remarks, when unexpectedly she pauses to consider the merits of bag-ladydom and for a second it doesn't sound that bad.

The real genius of Silverstein's comedy turns out to be the incredible empathy that the audience ends up feeling for the unlikeliest of characters: a woman who has had enough of men commenting on her womanly assets; a father who likes cruel jokes; a wife who is jealous of her mother-in-law; the guy who works in the laundromat; and even a talking dog with aspirations of fame and fortune.

The play also has some genuinely squirm-worthy moments, when you realize you're laughing at a totally taboo subject, such as auctioning off a human being or someone being fried in an electric chair.

If you wanted to, you could find many philosophical discussions in the play's material.

Or, you could just sit back and enjoy the sheer pleasure of really funny material executed well.

After all, what's funnier than watching the crap get kicked out of the guy who came up with all those annoying pop culture phrases from the 60s and 70s?

"Have a nice day!"

CHECK IT OUT

WHO: PipeDream Theatre

WHAT: "An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein" directed by Jen Waters, Eric Nepom and Amaya Egusquiza.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. May 1-2 and 2:30 p.m. May 3.

WHERE: Corvallis High School Black Box Theatre, 1400 N.W. Buchanan Ave.

TICKETS: $8 at the door.

NOTE: Play contains profanity, adult content and hilarity.

INFO: Pipedreamtheatre@

gmail.com or on Facebook.

CAST

Rebecca Douglas, Amaya Egusquiza, Eric Nepom, Katherine Otten, Chuck Skinner, Simon Tatom, Ajai Tripathi and Jen Waters.