Day 1 -- 8:30 p.m. Time Slot

Show: Burning Man & The Reverend Nuge

Company: Tommy Nugent

Venue: Gremlin Theatre

Die Roll: 19


Let me start by reiterating my stance on meaning-of-life plays. Basically, this is a type of play that all playwrights will try to tackle at some point. Often, it is the first one that they will write. That means that the overwhelming majority of plays that try to explain the meaning of life are written by college kids who've yet to really take the time to live before analyzing what it all means. I was one of those college kids. Each year at the Fringe there are a few shows that are the products of those college kids. I don't care for those shows. If you are 21 and you come up with some revelation about what it all means, please type it out, and then put it away for at least 10 years. Get it back out then and see if you still think it was the profound thought that it once seemed.

So... Here's the thing about this show. It is a meaning-of-life play. However, it is by a guy who has lived. And from the content of the show, it seems that his whole life has at some level been about searching for that meaning. Now that he's in his 40's he's able to look back and see what his life has been, and what were truly the profound moments thus far. So... essentially... if a person is goign to do a meaning-of-life play, he or she ought to be able to claim the same things as Tommy Nugent can.

Now, this is the tale of a man who grew up as a charismatic Christian, went on to preach, lost his faith, found other faiths, and eventually came to know himself through a mercurial life path that involved public speaking, writing, and attending the Burning Man Festival. I would really like to sit down at a bar and hear Tommy tell me these tales over a beer or three. In fact, I'd buy him a beer or two and feel that it was well worth the price of the beverages to hear about this fascinating man.

Sadly, the show is in a theatrical venue. It is not intimate enough to capture that same feeling. While I was very interested in what Nugent was saying, I found myself drifting from time to time. I never wondered to myself, "When is this going to be done?". But, I did find myself thinking, "What's he talking about now?" a few times.

My advice? Sit close to the front to capture the feel that he's talking directly to you. My issue with the show really does feel to me to be more a comment on the staging than the show itself. The other option would be to track Mr. Nugent down at Fringe Central and buy him a beer or two (or whatever else he might be drinking) and ask him about his life. That's the performance I would want to see.

The play has a great moral, if you want to call it that. And Tommy is a charismatic fella (not the same meaning of "charismatic" as earlier in the article). Grab one of his buttons on the way out, too. I find it somewhat reassuring, too, that by attending this show, I've now been promised that I won't burn in Hell. There's more to that, but you'll want to go to see what it means.

Ten Word Summary: Sharing the meaning of a life well and fully lived.

Rating: d12 - "A Heckuva Lotta Fun"