STAGE PLAYS: AWARD WINNERS

I rarely use the word brilliant to describe the work I've seen. There are so many good actors, directors and writers in this town that one must be careful not to be too generous and overuse one's praise. Unlike one reviewer who calls everything he sees the best and gives an award of merit to all of them, I choose to be more selective. This is my very first time at Neo Ensemble Theatre under the new artistic direction of Paul Elliott, and I am exceedingly impressed with the acting, direction and particularly the writing. Airport Encounters, onstage at the Lounge on Santa Monica Blvd through October 16 only, is a collection of 10 vignettes that all take place in a big city airport.

One piece flows into another with passengers, pilots, other crew members and various workers, like janitors and cafeteria personnel wandering in and out as they await flights, look around, or just pass through on their way to one venue or another. As quickly as one playlet ends with a couple exiting to catch their flight, the other begins with no lags or interruptions. It's as if a camera were filming the actual goings-on at a real airport waiting area, and we are looking on, watching the odd assortment of people, singles, marrieds, mother and daughter, or total strangers who sit and out of politeness or whatever, begin to chat with one another. Directors Joe Ochman and Richard Pierce keep a lively pace, and the entire evening is delightful with some vignettes hysterically funny and others quite engrossing with poignant, very human content. I am picking my favorite three to talk about and will mention a few other performances of note, but, believe me, it's all great, an evening not to be missed. And the writing is way beyond sitcom flavor; for short plays - that usually turn out to be nothing more than flimsy sketches - this is just the opposite... with some pretty terrific writing.

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5 out of 5 stars CRITICS CHOICE
by Don Grigware

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