It must be the holiday season, seeing as Halloween decorations have been up since September and Christmas is already starting to creep in, and everyone is beginning to get sick of the gooey sweetness of the season. The holidays are shiny and fun as a kid, and yes pumpkin spice is not all bad but the real truth is that Halloween — like Christmas — is more salt than sugar as an adult. There is planning, scheduling, purchasing of candy, costumes, and lots of things to give to other people. It is not a time for selfishness or hiding, though that is what many of us want to do. But Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) has the solution.
“Mercury”, written by Steve Yockey, is the perfect solution, because it is “a horror comedy of outrageous proportions” according to SLAC’s website. It’s a show about love. You could say the characters experience a sort of crisis… and other vague descriptions that tell you nothing. The important thing to know is it’s funny, it’s cheesy and it’s twisted. Non-horror lovers, you will like this show for its heart. Horror lovers, you will just like this show.
Not only is the script fantastic, but the actors and creative team are as well. Yockey may be a Los Angeles-based writer but his work has appeared all over the United States including SLAC in “Blackberry Winter.” Director, Shannon Musgrave, has her fingers in many Salt Lake pies including assistant directing “Saturday’s Voyeur” each year. So if you don’t think this play will be funny, think again. The actors are also no one to sneeze at, (or do, it might be fun to watch their reaction). April Fossen who played Blanche in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” at The Grand last spring appears in it, and Aaron Adams who just closed “Ion” to name a few.
This show has some violence, nudity and graphic content so use discretion. It will not just knock your socks off it will steal them and run away cackling. “Mercury” opens Oct. 11 and runs through Nov. 12. For tickets and more info check out SLAC.