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 Epic
Proportions
By Larry Coen & David Crane
Nov. 25 - Dec. 17, 2005
Directed by Michael Payne
Carpenter Square Theatre goes Hollywood this holiday season when it presents the
Oklahoma premiere of the rollicking comedy EPIC PROPORTIONS.
Set during the Great Depression, on the movie location of a Hollywood
extravaganza (a la BEN-HUR), the fast-paced action
includes gladiator fights, the Ten Plagues and romance mixed with a slew of
sight gags and one-liners. Performances are November 25 – December 17 in Stage
Center’s Arena theater at 400 W. Sheridan in downtown
Oklahoma City.
The story
centers around two brothers. Benny is a movie star wannabe who has left the
family farm and landed a job as one of over 3,400
extras on “Exeunt Omnes” (Everybody Out) which is being filmed in the Arizona
desert. His older brother Phil comes to fetch him home, but Phil gets caught up
in the movie magic.
Soon Louise
Goldman, the assistant director in charge of extras, divides her extras into
four groups. Phil’s group impresses Miss Goldman, and in short order they are
brandishing swords and gorging on exotic fare. When Benny’s group flubs their
reaction shots, they are relegated to playing dead bodies and suffering through
the Ten Plagues. As a mammoth parade scene turns to chaos, Phil’s suggestions
impress Miss Goldman again. (It seems Phil’s experience as a high school drum
major who created the marching band formations is just what it takes to manage
crowd action.) Shortly, a romantic triangle forms between the assistant director
and the rival brothers. A series of hilarious onset calamities leads to greater
fortune for the three: Phil becomes the film’s director, while his brother Benny
and Miss Goldman emerge as the epic’s stars.
Playwrights
Larry Coen and David Crane (co-creator and executive producer of TV’s
FRIENDS) developed the story together. The concept
dates back to when they were both students at Brandeis University. One day,
while watching a biblical epic on television, they noticed an extra being
crushed under a falling column. They wondered: What was his day like? The comic
plot spiraled from that question.
Carpenter Square
Theatre is the recipient of a project assistance grant from the Oklahoma Arts
Council for this production. The theater is an Allied Arts member agency and the
show is an Allied Arts Star Card event.
”Epic Proportions” is rated PG.
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