Star Bar Players are up for a job of 'Epic Proportions'
'Friends' co-creator had idea in college
The Gazette September 2003

Epic Proportions is a play whose time has come.

The script for the Star Bar Players' latest production was praised during a 1986 off-Broadway production, but not praised enough to be picked up by another company in the ensuing 13 years.

When it finally had a short Broadway run in 1999, the reviews generally were - ahem - cool.

But today this farce by David Crane and Larry Coen shows every sign of becoming a staple in the nation's community theatres.

Why the sudden revival?

Part of the answer lies in a setting so inspired it's hard to imagine it hadn't already been used: the production set of a 1930s Hollywood biblical epic. The possibilities for silliness are infinite, and directors are eager to take up the challenge.

And part of the answer lies in the name "David Crane." As the co-creator of "Friends" - one alert headline writer titled an "Epic" review as "The One About the Hollywood Epic" - everything Crane has ever done is now being re-examined for untapped commercial potential.

And finally, it's generally true that, the worse times are, the more people turn to comedy.

That's an important part of the play's appeal to director Joshua Higgason.

"Sometimes, you just need to come out and have fun," says the 20-year-old Colorado College student, making his community theatre directing debut.

Epic Proportions has been described as "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" meets "The Ten Commandments." The concept dates back to Crane's and Coen's student days at Brandeis University.

While watching a biblical epic on TV, they noticed an extra being crushed under a falling column. They began to wonder: What was his day like?

The result is this two-hour madcap farce in which three actors play the leads and the remainder - five in Star Bar's production - take on the roles of all 3,400 extras, ranging from Egyptians to gladiators.

The original director falls victim to a rampaging Burning Bush; the actor playing the Roman emperor meets his demise during retakes of a scene in which he falls down the stairs.

And of course there's a romantic triangle as two brothers vie for one woman's heart.

Higgason says the biggest directorial challenge has been balancing fun and hard work.

"Some nights we get going, and we have so much fun we lose focus," he says. "Other nights, we're working so hard we forget to have fun."

But Higgason has nothing but praise for his cast's spirit, camaraderie, and willingness to try new things.

"When someone can't make a rehearsal, there are fights over who gets to jump in and take over the parts," he says.

-- Mark Arnest