Another comedy session wraps up for successful TV comedian Barry (Jay Sullivan). At the end of the show, he’s surprised to see two bankers John (Bailey Jenkins) and Jane (Juliana McManus) waiting to offer him a financial opportunity. However, there’s a secret the bankers are hiding, all to expose Barry for the person he is when the cameras are off.
Lamar University’s Department of Theatre & Dance will present “Dumb Show,” Sept. 19-22, in the Studio Theatre.
The play centers around two investigative journalists chasing to get the latest scoop for their tabloid magazine. Written by Joe Penhall, “Dumb Show” explores the theme of ethics in journalism and people as a whole.
“I think it’s very topical,” director Joel Goethe said. “The narrative is very strong. This predates cancel culture; It was originally written in 2004, but it kind of anticipates what has happened.
“In this play, you’re talking about ideas of slander and entrapment. When a famous person does things that maybe not everybody likes, does that mean their life is ruined? Should they not be able to have a career?”
Grothe said there has been a lot of instances recently where people’s careers, famous people’s careers, have been ruined, even though they may ultimately have been vindicated.
“But the lie or the rumor of what they did traveled so fast it doesn’t matter,” he said. “And we live in a world where people’s word doesn’t matter to them. The integrity that people carry, and how much they care about decency and giving people a fair shake is second to being profitable and being successful.”
Bankers John and Jane are actually reporters Greg and Liz who are working together to get dirt on Barry. But their ethics in finding the “truth” are concerning.
“John’s a morally flexible dude,” Jenkins said. “He obviously has responsibilities, but as to how he fulfills those duties is morally questionable. At the end of the day, he’s just trying to live and he’s probably not where he wants to be. This has been really fun; I usually don’t play characters like this.”
McManus said her character, Jane, is different to how McManus acts in real life.
“She knows what she wants, she knows how to get it, and she’s willing to go pretty far to get it,” McManus said. “It’s kind of uncomfortable, just because I’m kind of a people pleaser. But, she’s kind of a, ‘No, I want this, and I want it now, so give it to me.’ It’s a little bit trickier to have that natural instinct of, ‘OK, I’m going to go ahead and take this authority, because I just naturally don’t want to do that.’ So, it’s kind of working against my instincts.”
Jay Sullivan, who plays Barry, is a guest artist from Houston’s MFA acting program. He previously was in the Alley Theatre’s company for a decade. Sullivan said Barry is on the back side of his career.
“He’s not as popular as he used to be, a bit bombastic and full of himself, very needy of attention, and lonely and sadder than he wants to let on from the outside,” Sullivan said. “I’ve never played a character that was quite like him, but in my head he’s kind of an amalgamation of some different British TV presenters. It’s a type that we’ve definitely seen on the BBC over the decades, perhaps a dying breed.”
Sullivan said working with students is no different from working with a professional cast.
“I feel like no matter where you’re rehearsing a play, the overall goal is always the same — you want to tell the story as completely, and as well as you can,” he said.
Showtimes for “Dumb Show” are 7:30 p.m., Sept. 19-21, and 2 p.m., Sept. 22. General admission tickets are $15, $10 for seniors, and $7 for students with LU ID. For tickets, visit lamar.edu/ lutdtix.
