Playhouse will get some ‘Bright Ideas’

TOM TITUS

The quest by modern parents to enroll their youngsters in the best

pre-school possible can take some outlandish turns -- as illustrated

on a recent episode of TV’s “Desperate Housewives” when Felicity

Huffman tried to pass off her bald-headed son as a cancer patient

(his head had been shaved to remove a wad of gum).

Playwright Eric Coble took this theme and turned it into an

intriguing and outrageous comedy called “Bright Ideas,” which

debuted off-Broadway two years ago. Laguna Playhouse audiences will

get a look at this “bright” play next week in its West Coast

premiere.

“Bright Ideas” focuses on Josh and Gen, two parents who want

nothing but the best for their son. This means starting him off in

nothing but the best pre-school. Then they find out just how

competitive the admission process is -- and realize they must go to

some extraordinary lengths to get the youngster enrolled.

The result, according to Variety, is “slicker than the paint job

in

a kindergarten playroom on the first day of school -- a toy box of

a script stuffed with nasty jokes and outrageous situations.”

Coble’s script was initially hatched at the Cleveland Play House

prior to its New York outing, where it was greeted by the New York

Times as “a marvelous full-length comedy with genuine social

commentary on its mind, a rare enterprise.”

Another New York publication, Newsday, commented that Coble “slyly

tells his story in a manner that gradually teases out its

similarities with a certain Shakespearean tragedy about a

power-hungry Scotsman.”

That comment must have hit home with the playwright -- who was

born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was raised on the Navajo and Ute

reservations of New Mexico and Colorado. His plays have been produced

across the United States, including Washington’s Kennedy Center.

Directing this twisted comedy is Andrew Barnicle, the playhouse’s

artistic director, whose last production was the estimable satire

“Tabletop,” a knife in the back of the advertising world and the

theater’s most enjoyable offering of 2004.

Cast members include Pat Caldwell and Bo Foxworth as the desperate

parents, with April Ortiz, Larry Raben and Maura Vincent playing

multiple roles in the comedy.

Previews of “Bright Ideas” will be given Tuesday through Friday,

with opening night scheduled for Feb. 19, by invitation only.

Regular performances will be given Tuesdays through Fridays at 8

p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8, Sundays at 2 and 7 until March 20.

Reservations are being taken at (949) 497-2787.