THEATER REVIEW: Moxie's 'Ten Cent Night' is twangy fun

They say that everything's bigger in Texas, like the outlandish characters and kooky situations in "Ten Cent Night," Marisa Wegrzyn's offbeat comedy making its San Diego premiere at Moxie Theatre.

Wegrzyn has said the play was inspired by the campiness of old-timey country song lyrics, and it's not hard to imagine Tammy Wynette or Conway Twitty penning a ditty about the colorful oddballs in this likable, if uneven, script.

Fresh off her triumph as the Emcee in Cygnet Theatre's "Cabaret," multitalented San Diego actor Karson St. John firmly anchors this tale of the troubled Finley family of Burkeville, Texas.

St. John plays Roby Finley, the hard-drinking, hardly likable, honky-tonk-singing daughter of a famous country/Western star who's been coasting for decades on his top-selling single "Ten Cent Night."

As the play opens in 1973, Roby's career has hit bottom, and she talks the mute drug-runner Danny Doucet (a sweet, expressive Justin Lang) into sharing his apartment. She has some trouble with the law (which leaves her handcuffed to a folding chair), steals a guitar case full of drug money and hitchhikes home. Roby wants to help her little sister, Sadie (Erin Peterson, luminous and natural), who's got a broken heart, literally (she desperately needs heart surgery in Dallas) and figuratively (she's fallen in love with her brother, Holt).

Once she arrives in Burkeville, Roby encounters her embittered twin sister Dee (a prickly, wounded Jennifer Eve Thorn), who has also returned home to care for Sadie and Holt (a green but funny Jordan Zimmer) after their father's surprise suicide by shotgun.

Following close on Roby's heels are Danny, who encounters love at first sight with Dee, and Danny's Cajun drug boss, Roscoe Lamar (a scene-stealing, hilarious Mark Petrich). Roscoe's bent on revenge, but he puts his mission on hold when he meets the earthy town whore, Lila Mozelle (a wonderful, open-hearted performance by Dana Hooley).

And just like in many old country tunes, there are surprise twists in the final verse, but I won't spoil them here. The play's first act keeps you guessing and the second act is the funniest. The incest subplot feels unnecessary, other elements feel like cliches, and the whole thing runs about a half-hour longer than it should; but Wegrzyn's characters are wonderfully drawn, and she's got a knack for dialogue and humor.

Director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg brings a rich, colorful zest to the production. These characters are highly exaggerated, but Turner Sonnenberg makes sure the actors give sincere performances, so their heartbreaks don't play as just another punchline. Ryan Seybert's origami-style set is especially innovative, and Jennifer Brawn Gittings' '70s-style costumes are inspired.

Little Texas - What Might Have Been-(Little Texas) Lyrics

Sure I think about you now and then,

But it's been a long long time.

I've go a good life now,

And I've moved on.

So when you cross my mind...

I try not to think about what might have been,

Cus that was then and we have taken different roads.

We can't go back again, there's no use giving in.

And there's no way to know, what might have been.

We could sit and talk about this all night long,

And wonder why we didn't last.

Yes they might be the best days we will ever know,

But we'll have to leave them in the past.

Lyrics provided by http://www.kovideo.net/

Source - http://www.kovideo.net/what-might-have-been-little-texas-lyrics-little-texas-491926.html

So try not to think about what might have been,

Cus that was then and we have taken different roads.

We can't go back again, there's no use giving in,

And there's no way to know...

What might have been.

The same old look in your eyes; it's a beautiful night,

I'm so tempted to stay.

But too much time has gone by; we should just say goodbye,

And turn and walk away.

And try not to think about what might have been,

Cus that was then and we have taken different roads.

We can't go back again, there's no use giving in,

And there's no way to know what might have been.

No we'll never know...

Texas Monthly

The Family Car Songbook, Hundreds of Miles of Fun!

Music and technoculture

A Little Texas Two-Step

The best little whorehouse in Texas