The West End Players Guild continues its season with Wake Up, Cameron Dobbs, a world premiere penned by St. Louis actor and playwright, Stephen Peirick. Written in 2006, this comedy is getting a splendid treatment with thoughtful, nimble performances and direction.
The lights come up on Owen (Eric Dean White) and his wife Abby's (Colleen Backer) New York City apartment. They're preparing to host a little birthday dinner party for Owen's brother, Cameron (John Foughty). The natural, conversational tone of the evening is delightfully set as Owen considers the wine for the night and Abby considers her wardrobe -- their back-and-forth is very funny. Cameron shows up with a bloody nose and a bruised up face from falling into the gutter after being tripped just outside his brother's apartment. Happy 30th birthday, right?! After an explanation about his appearance and the discovery that the meal prepared for him features something he's deathly allergic to, Cameron admits that he'd lost his job months ago and could use a little financial boost from big bro. Cameron suffers a considerable amount of ribbing from his brother concerning the specific circumstances of his job loss (an ill-timed company bathroom situation -- I'll just leave it at that, shall I?), and then Owen tells Cameron that he has invited their mother (Jan Meyer) to the party -- an invitation Abby wasn't expecting. When Mom arrives, she flies into the details of her latest drama, is convinced that Cameron really got mugged instead of falling down, and manages to set everyone on edge.
