(Posted May 18, 2006)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – GRIMM SHORTS is a satirical seminar that should be required for all theater addicts.

Jeremy Childs' new play is funny, but it's also got a point to make about the superficial pseudo-therapy that's overtaken everything from large convention halls to TV programs in recent years. And while doing that, this show also reminds us of the child-like joy we can take in playing along.

Childs' gift for skewering our foibles is well-known to Music City playgoers - ZOMBIES CAN'T CLIMB, PALISADES and VAMPIRE MONOLOGUES have all taken a slice out of the American pie with a keen comic eye for the bulls*&t contained in the recipe.

This 80-minute tale centers on the so-called "self-help" industry that makes cartloads of money from those seeking improvement through platitudes and reassuring phrases. It begins interactively as patrons are given nametags and find a piece of carpet on their chairs that a wellness guru (Karen Garcia) for "The Power Within" tells them can be used for rest and contemplation.

Assisting Garcia are Josh Childs and Don Griffiths, who act out versions of such fairy tales as RUMPLESTILTSKIN, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK and CINDERELLA that aren't exactly the ones we all grew up with. There's also a send-up of reality shows that hits the idiocy of these programs square on the head and some folksy music that owes more to A MIGHTY WIND than to Peter, Paul and Mary.

The trio are quite funny, not only because of the material but because of their own talent for timing, action and reaction. Garcia's intensity, Childs' goofiness and Griffiths' resigned air combine characterwise into a threesome that hold our attention while we're also holding our sides.

Jeremy Childs' direction keeps the show brisk but still relaxed so that we're not overwhelmed by the action in Bongo After Hours Theater's intimate playing space. 

GRIMM SHORTS lets you play, laugh, sing and think. It's a fun night at the theater. What more could you want?

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