Flatlanders is the perfect show that could help couples re-evaluate their longtime relationship and perhaps even spice it up a bit, and Players Circle Theater on McGregor Boulevard is just the place to do it. I would even suggest taking some mental notes while watching it.
A chill is in the air as a Philadelphia couple, Ronnie and Michael, head to the Poconos for their upcoming wedding weekend in the middle of a blizzard.
What I really loved about this show is that the couple is so convincing in their roles, and that's because they're played by real life husband and wife Kimberly Suskind (Ronnie) and Ted Wioneck III (Michael). You'll particularly notice that in the kissing scenes. Both seasoned actors bring a lot of energy and passion to the stage and keep the audience fully engaged.
Michael's car slides off the road in the snowstorm, and they're left to enter an unoccupied home and take refuge until the roads are passable.
Playwright Bruce Grahan based the plot on an incident that actually happened to some friends who found a trailer to wait out a storm. However, Steve McLean’s set design is much nicer than a mobile home.
This is the Southeastern U.S. premiere of the show, so it's a play you're not likely to see again anytime soon here in Southwest Florida, and there is just a week left to see it.
What the couple finds inside the home may be a bit shocking to audiences, but it includes a box of tricks that may lead to a more exciting idea for the honeymoon.
If you want to know more, you're going to have to see it. The only other thing I'll say to entice you is that one of the items pulled from the secret box tucked in the basement left audiences howling, along with the sidesplitting physical humor that Wioneck is good at.
Upon breaking into the home, the couple realizes there is no power and no cell service, so that leaves them with no communication with the outside world, forcing them to only communicate with each other, something they're a little rusty at.
It's a scenario these days that can leave couples who are so dependent on their phones feeling anxious.
The small, intimate theater allows audiences to feel as though they're eavesdropping on their conversations and squabbles.
The show's dialogue is filled with laugh lines and Wioneck provides plenty of physical comedy reminiscent of a modern version of The Dick VanDyke Show.
Anyone who has ever been in a relationship may see a little of themselves in the show, which for me brings it home and gives it that warm familiarity that makes it a feel-good show audiences will enjoy.
"FLATLANDERS" runs through April 6 th at Players Circle Theater on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers. Tickets are available by calling the Box Office 239-800-3292 or visit PlayersCircleTheater.com .