Presented by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum/Desipina Company, at The Tenement Theatre, 97 Orchard St., NYC, April 1-23.
"7 Eleven Franchised," seven highly enjoyable 11-minute plays set in convenience stores, has introduced a raft of talented playwrights to theatregoers. Such evenings almost invariably contain only one or two "pearls." Here, though, each play, with its everyday milieu, sparkles as something uncommon.
In Alexis Camins' "Everything," a movie star returns to a corner store where he stole as a child, resulting in a Pinteresque power struggle between star and shop owner. Vishakan Jeyakumar meditates eloquently and comically on the relationship between (and bigotry felt by) blacks and new immigrants in "Raj Against the Machine," while Geeta Malik uncovers a failing marriage in "For Argument's Sake."
Mehnaz Sahibzada's "1947" poignantly examines the similarities and differences between two assimilated Pakistani girls and an unassimilated Pakistani clerk. "Just Enough to Be Noticed" by J.P. Chan takes a Sam Shepard look at love in a 7-Eleven, while Sujit Chawla's "Countergirl" looks at love in the aisles from two points of view to highly amusing results. Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri's clever and tuneful short musical "A Very Desi Christmas" can be summed up with the lead character's name: Scroogewala.
Gita Reddy directs "7 Eleven" so that one does not notice the cramped size of the stage (which converts nicely from play to play thanks to Vincent Hokia's shifting checkout counter and store window). The seven-member company serves the material well. Anar Vilas and Rita Garg shine as the two girls in "1947." Tim Kang brings an easygoing charm to several of the pieces. Jerold E. Solomon delights as a flamboyant customer looking to date the "Countergirl." Jackson Loo and Monica Francisco explore their roles sensitively and passionately in "Noticed" as lovers dance toward a tragic fate.
One hopes to hear and see more of the artists who opened up this "7 Eleven."
