donut shop vampires written and performed by Peter Aterman, directed by Bruce Hunter. Presented by Macho Vegetables Entertainment and the Tim Sims Playhouse (56 Blue Jays Way). Runs to December 16, Thursday-Friday 9 pm, Saturday 10:30 pm. $11. 343-0011. Rating: NN Rating: NNNNN
after his lean, mean and darkly funny Fringe one-hander Slaves Of Starbucks, Peter Aterman’s new collection of monologues, Donut Shop Vampires, comes as a letdown.A satiric look at the excesses, obsessions and compulsions of lonely people from Hollywood to London to T.O., it feels sketchy and workshoppy. The donut metaphor’s apt: there’s a big hole in the material.
At his best, Aterman captures the anger lurking beneath the polite surface of life, and there are nuggets of dark gold buried in some of these pieces. The idea that vampires no longer want to live forever in our boring, TV-saturated culture is a brilliant one. And Aterman’s a master of the surreal image, as when the Messiah appears to exploited Korean restaurant workers.
The show’s sharpest material pokes fun at obvious targets like the biblical excesses of movie stars (and our adoration of them) and the self-importance of so-called edgy artists who puke on art. Note: vomit and decapitation are the show’s most persistent motifs.
But even his best material soon runs out of places to go. As for the rest – squeegee kids? supermodels? C’mon, they’re so over.donut shop vampires written and performed by Peter Aterman, directed by Bruce Hunter. Presented by Macho Vegetables Entertainment and the Tim Sims Playhouse (56 Blue Jays Way). Runs to December 16, Thursday-Friday 9 pm, Saturday 10:30 pm. $11. 343-0011. Rating: NN
