ON THE TOWN WITH CHIP DEFFAA… AT “THE EDGE MOTEL”
"The Edge Motel" is a well-crafted, intricately plotted play. And playwright Tom Rowan certainly has a good feel for dialogue. (He’s a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre, whose work I’ve enjoyed quite a bit over the years. And I'd also heard good things from friends about a play that he had in the Dream Up Festival last year, which I was not able to get to; so I was eager to see this new play of his, whether or not I wound up writing about.) This new play has just three characters, and one simple set. The running time is one hour and 45 minutes, with no intermission. And "The Edge Motel" held me from beginning to end. A bit of judicious pruning would make this good play even better. (More about that later.) But it’s been years since I’ve enjoyed so much a play that arrived with almost no advance publicity. This one really took me by surprise. [more]