For Once, Gremlins Get Their Due

LateNite is like Peanuts: no adults. Columbia students wrote, directed, acted in, produced, designed, and carried out everything. And rarely does it disappoint. The show consists of a series of sketches, whose quality is quite consistent; even the last one, "Other People," with its flat characters, has the best line of the night-so obviously I can't put it here.

In the first piece, the lights dim to "My Generation" by The Who, then brighten on four kids trying to get out of detention-for football practice, a protest rally to legalize pot, a dire need to pee, and a tampon change. Also, there's a flaming blimp. The four well-acted stock characters make for great slapstick and really funny chaos.

The next piece, about a deadbeat dad's first conversation with his son in almost five years, is actually moving. There is no physical motion as the dad (Rami Raff, CC '05) and his son (Jacob Green, GS '09) grope for common ground, and perhaps even find it. Through it all hangs the tension of the things the father wishes he were mature enough to say.

Act Two opens on a gremlin played by Abby Broberg, CC '08, who doesn't get any thanks for making life interesting by unbuttoning a lady's blouse, stealing a book, eating a sandwich, and worse. The gremlin is an interesting, even likeable character compared to the intentionally boring but well-acted airplane passengers. The music composed by Joe Rubinstein, CC '08 of strange, soft flute melodies contrast well against the noisy airplane.

"Commitment," commendably written by Samantha Carlin, BC '09, is a strange piece about an asylum where people go to learn why they're so bad in relationships. The characters are nuanced and exciting, and their inner monologues are thick with intriguing past experiences.

And now the long-awaited moment from the last sketch: "She was absolutely the most gorgeous thing I have ever laid ... laid eyes on." The line belongs to Gene Schildkraut, CC '06, who strives to come across as a sympathetic rapist.

Awards for two best costumes go to Andrew Stinger's shirtless Leon Spink in bright red pants, limping on one rollerskate, and the Victorian look of the gremlin. Between the bare sets and sometimes minimal music and costumes, the character development or the slapstick will occupy you wholly, which means you're in for great evening.