Mike (Joshua Koopman) owns a struggling small theatre playing it safe presenting “known plays” like “Romeo and Juliet” attracting small audiences but small is better than playing riskier productions that may fail to attract any patrons.
Jerry, the landlord of the theatre premises, advises Mike when his lease expires in two months he will have to raise rent by 35% income the theatre simply does not have hence its probable closure.
Mike decides to play the risky game presenting a different “out of the ordinary” play every night to mostly sold-out audiences. With success comes a new set of problems. Managing a theatre on the edge of financial collapse is far different than running a successful theatre. Actors, support staff, Mike and his wife are run off their feet. Success requires recognition for those who make any business successful a lesson learnt by Mike almost too late to be rectified. Mike is not a bad person just overwhelmed transitioning from managing a struggling theatre to a successful one. There are so many factors required for running a successful business and Mike is not doing a very good job at it. I can imagine after the success of the film it will be screening in organizational psychology classes for MBA students!
The public relations blurb accompanying the film refers to the film as “the hilarious live-theatre themed comedy”. Hilarious it wasn’t and neither was it much of comedy. The humour is mostly “big smile” as opposed to “big laugh” comedy. And I would more accurately describe it as a “romcom”.
While Koopman plays Mike as a distant and abstract character more of an intellectual than a businessman. Julie Pope playing Sarah dominates the screen a sheer master of facial acting! Her undying positive energy is a perfect foil to the distant and unfocused Mike. The acting throughout is immaculate. It is evident director and co-writer Martin Kaszubowski has a love for live theatre making the film all the more “realistic”.
The film is the midst of a limited theatrical run in the United States and will be showing at the upcoming Beloit International Film Festival in Wisconsin.
Directed and written by Martin Kaszubowski.
Available digitally.
RKS 2024 Film Rating: 75/100.
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