(Cover Photo: The CAST of Aurora Real de Asua's "WIPEOUT" presented by Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, MA. now playing through July 28, 2024. Photo Credit Jason Grow Photography)


By Kevin T. Baldwin

METRMAG Reviewer

# 774-242-6724

“I think I'm the nail. I think all my life I've been the nail."

                                               - ("Claudia") / Aurora Real de Asua

Gloucester Stage Company

Presents Aurora Real de Asua's

"WIPEOUT"

Written by Aurora Real de Asua

Directed by Shana Gozanskyº

Cast Includes: Karen MacDonald* as "Margaret/Gary," Cheryl D. Singleton* as "Claudia," Noelle Player* as "Wynn," Thomas Bilotta as "Blaze" 

Additional Creative Team:

Scenic Design - Jenna McFarland Lord; Costume Design - Jennifer Greek; Lighting Design - Kat C. Zhou^; Sound Design - Audrey Dube; Properties Design - Carolyn Ferris; Production Stage Manager - Marsha Smith*

ºThe Director is an associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)

^Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE 

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.    

Performances:

July 5, 2024 through July 28, 2024

(Contact Box Office for Exact Times) 

GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester MA.

TICKETS:

For detailed ticket information or additional information, contact the Box Office at # 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.com. 

BUY TICKETS 

COVID 19 PROTOCOLS

Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.

As the summer season reaches its zenith, Gloucester Stage Company hangs ten without taking a header thanks to its bitchin' production of "WIPEOUT."

Actually, technically speaking, no one in the lighthearted one-act pay, written by Aurora Real de Asua, ever really "hangs ten" (which is literally placing all ten toes on the nose of the surfboard while surfing). 

And yet, the fun and camaraderie between three older female friends who have never surfed before and their young male instructor comes across as sincere and enthusiastic.

(Photo: Noelle Player as "Wynn" with Karen MacDonald as "Margaret/Gary" in a scene from Aurora Real de Asua's "WIPEOUT" presented by Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, MA. now playing through July 28, 2024. Photo Credit Jason Grow Photography)

Hanging above the "wading pool" (which is the set used to represent the ocean for "WIPEOUT") are beach balls, hanging down almost like oddly designed holiday ornaments. 

Before the show, assorted surfing music is played.

All of the above perfectly sets the tone for what we are about to watch, which is both fun and moving at times, ebbing and flowing much like the currents these newbies must ride.

Using surfer lingo, these three ladies would be referred to as "kooks" - but it doesn't mean what you might think.

'Kook" merely refers to "new" surfers or those with little, poor or no technique whatsoever - which all three mature women demonstrate, as their instructor, Blaze (Thomas Bilotta) quickly learns. 

(Cover Photo: Thomas Bilotta as "Blaze" instructs his surf pupils in a scene from Aurora Real de Asua's "WIPEOUT" presented by Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, MA. now playing through July 28, 2024. Photo Credit Jason Grow Photography)

The script by Aurora Real de Asua is extremely well-balanced, never teetering into becoming much like an elongated "Golden Girls" episode - nor does it ever lean the other way, becoming far too heavy or maudlin with the plight of each character. 

Gradually, evenly, and within a relatively short span of time, we learn a lot about each of these four individual characters.

The day of surfing lessons appears to have been arranged by Claudia (Cheryl D. Singleton) as a fun day out with her lifelong friends, Wynn (Noelle Player) and Margaret, aka “Gary” (Karen MacDonald). 

We soon discover that Claudia is the 'eternal optimist' of the group but her optimism seems to come with a heavy price.

Singleton's performance never falls into an unrealistic caricature of the eternal optimist, though. 

All Claudia really wants is one, nice day with her sisters, knowing there may not be as many of them in their future and is uncertain as to how long she can act as the group's emotional support system. 

Gary, a post-menopausal lesbian, is facing the onset of gaps in her memory, which has caused a rift in her relationship with her friends, especially with Wynn. 

MacDonald gives an animated portrayal of Gary and does not try to play either stereotype of an older lesbian nor a person suffering from the ravages of age on their mind. 

Gary simply wants to live life every day to its fullest - reaching for whatever she can grasp...and then reaching even farther.

(Photo: Cheryl D. Singleton as "Claudia" with Karen MacDonald as "Margaret/Gary" in a scene from Aurora Real de Asua's "WIPEOUT" presented by Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, MA. now playing through July 28, 2024. Photo Credit Jason Grow Photography)

Wynn appears to be suffering from a perpetual state of doomed relationships with her most recent just coming to its end. 

Player gives a solid performance as the most jaded and acerbic of the trio, with Wynn hardened by life's lessons and continual disappointment. 

So jaded has she become that the last place Wynn wants to be is in the water, learning to surf in her sixties, and also having to contend with Gary's ongoing health issues.

Of course, poor young Blaze, son of a professional surfer, is unaware of any of these things - he is only there to show these kooks the basics of surfing and to ensure none of them ultimately "WIPEOUT."

Bilotta enters the story stoked with an almost infectious, unbridled enthusiasm, lightening the mood every time he appears. 

The above becomes increasingly difficult for Blaze, though, as the story unfolds and he becomes far more aware of the swell - that is, the strain and emotional toll that the years have taken on these friends and their relationship with each other.

(Cover Photo: Cheryl D. Singleton as "Claudia," Karen MacDonald as "Margaret/Gary" and Noelle Player as "Wynn" in a moment from Aurora Real de Asua's "WIPEOUT" presented by Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, MA. now playing through July 28, 2024. Photo Credit Jason Grow Photography)

On the tech side of the wave, both lighting and sound cues were executed flawlessly. 

The simple yet equally clever placement of the "surfboards" on rolling chairs as pictured above was sheer perfection.

The Gloucester Stage Company production of "WIPEOUT" continues in Gloucester until July 28th and, while fun and witty, it is also plentiful with currents of great emotion. So, catch this wave while you can before it rolls back out to sea.

Coming up next at Gloucester Stage Company will be "WISH YOU WERE HERE" by Sanaz Toossi bringing breathtaking humanity and cutting wit to the stage beginning August 9th.

ORDER TICKETS 

Approximately 85 minutes with no intermission. 

Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)

@MetrmagReviews

@Theatre_Critics 

ABOUT THE SHOW

For her 77th birthday, Gary knows exactly what she wants: to go surfing. 

There’s only one problem: She’s never touched the water. 

But with the help of a hot-rod teenage surf instructor and her two best friends, Gary’s ready to conquer the unknown. 

Taking place on surfboards in the Pacific Ocean, "WIPEOUT” is a septuagenarian surf comedy about what it takes to hang ten.

This break-out new play by Aurora Real de Asua has been workshopped at Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival, et al. before arriving on GLOUCESTER STAGE's shore. 

ABOUT GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY

GLOUCESTER STAGE is a professional non-profit theater company, operating under a NEAT agreement with AEA, SDC, and IATSE unions, presenting contemporary plays and rousing classics that have moved on to commercial productions in New York and Paris. Located in a century-old brick warehouse on the oceanfront of Boston’s North Shore, the unique three quarter thrust stage provides an intimate experience for audiences.

GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY

267 East Main Street

Gloucester, MA 01930

# 978-281-4433

www.gloucesterstage.com