T300's 'Fish in the Desert' a treat

Some plays invite intimacy with the audience, like a big friendly bear hug for the soul. They invite the audience it the house for a visit and tell them a story as if everyone in the theater were old friends. MFA playwright Angeline Larimer's thesis show, "Fish in the Desert," now playing in T300, is one such show.\nUpon entering the performance space prior to the show, the audience is greeted by the ingratiating organist and one-man-Beatles-cover-band, Willy -- senior Duncan Teater, who is also an IDS columnist.\nWilly spends the downtime before the production starts warming up the audience with Beatles trivia, sing-alongs and get-to-know-you sessions. While Willy sings, Graciela the waitress -- junior Eliza Hart -- serves drinks and hustles the audience for tips.\nThis kind of gimmicky opening can be dangerous, because if the performers aren't completely charming, it will not work. Being so close to the audience, the actors must make an effort to bond with those in the bleachers.\nLuckily, Teater and Hart are warm performers, and the audience at the Saturday matinee seemed to really enjoy them. If you don't believe me, just check the number of twenties that were stuffed into their respective tip jars.\nWith an opening such as this, "Fish in the Desert" is a perfect choice for the T300 space. It tells the story of a group of people from varying backgrounds whose lives converge on a local Tucson restaurant called "The Cow Palace." Through the kinds of twists and turns that playwrights Gilbert and Sullivan would have relished in, the heroes find happiness in the most bizarre circumstances.\nLarimer has produced a smart script, and the dialogue is appropriately silly for the show. The characters seem to be a cross between Shakespeare and a Tex Avery cartoon. With a framework such as this, the responsibility of bringing the show to life lies in the hands of the performers and director. Thankfully, that is exactly what they do.\nAfter the pre-show performance by Teater and Hart, the plot gets moving. With the best of intentions, Graciela's fiance Diego, played with lustful fervor by sophomore Brian Levin, has gotten involved in the botched sale of a bag of peyote.\nThis infuriates Graciela, who demands that it be thrown out. Diego convinces her that if he can sell it they will have enough money to get married. She finally concedes, and Diego goes back to the kitchen to cook for the customers who are beginning to arrive.\nThere are also two elderly people played by junior AJ Heston and continuing studies student Kate Braun, who argue about whether they should have salt on their margaritas. Their granddaughter, played by senior Wendy Gaunt, announces that she plans to enter the convent.\nIf that were not enough, Jojo Earp the cactus king -- graduate student Jonathen Molitor -- and his estranged conservationist son Wyatt -- freshman Darby Cicci -- are also eating at the "Cow Palace."\nWhere the plot goes should be fairly obvious, since there is a bag of hallucinogens precariously lying around the kitchen. But silly plot twists are not all this show is about. It is about how the characters interact.\nThe scenes between Diego and Graciela are sweet and funny, starting the show off strong. Even Jojo Earp, the womanizing, cactus-poaching father of Wyatt, inspires sympathy when things don't go well for him in the end.\nSome of the praise for the success of the characters should go to the director -- graduate student Steve Decker -- whose light and airy interpretation of Larimer's text draws the audience into the show.\nAnd scenic designer -- graduate student Jared H. Porter -- turns the Cow Palace into an exaggerated version of familiar neighborhood bar and grills, which remarkably turns into an appropriately cartoon-like desert landscape for act two.\nAll of this familiarity, warmth and charm make "Fish in the Desert" a wonderful end of the semester treat for anyone who likes to smile.