Stuart and Paulette are a somewhat elderly, bi-racial couple, introduced in last year’s Theatre 3, Solstice Holiday Show. They are quite fond of each other, and no less avid or convivial, for the passing years. They tryst in DFW’s Crawford Memorial Park, where the forbidding, dark and chilly weather, only serve to enhance the cozy, sexy mood. Stuart rides up on one of those “grocery store” scooters, with a comfortable seat and basket. He comes bearing gifts of Christmas Cheer (hydrocodone) that he also uses to supplement his meager income. Paulette and Stuart may be getting on, but they haven’t lost their streetcred. They are lit, in more ways than one.
When the amorous couple begin to hear noises, Paulette fears they may fall prey to serial killers. (Thank you, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit). Soon they cross paths with pagans who (though they seem harmless enough) congenially explain that they must ritually sacrifice the two. While these strange folks don’t seem, shall we say, focused enough, to place Stuart and Paulette in imminent danger, Paulette leaves and Stuart stays behind. Later, Stuart has a conversation with a grouchy, savvy, female supernatural entity named Misery. She helps Stuart work through the loss of his wife Lola, who passed from cancer. She also ushers him to the presence of “Miss Nancy – Keeper of the Keys”. It takes a number of encounters before Stuart understands the reasoning behind his ambivalence and lack of commitment to Paulette.
Solstice: A New Holiday Adventure, is Theatre 3’s alternative to traditional holiday entertainment. The Winter solstice is a powerful, remarkable event in the pagan calendar, that existed long before Christmas was celebrated. Carefully woven by Jonathan Norton, Janielle Kastner and Cherish Love, Solstice introduces us to the longest night of the year, on the cusp between Autumn and Winter. Entities familiar and strange intervene in human activity, in this case, the romance between Paulette and Stuart. Stuart and Paulette are deeply involved, despite grown children who don’t understand, and past lovers that get in the way. Their profound connection reaches a crisis point on this magical night, and the sagacious Misery helps Stuart salvage it.
It’s grand that T3 steps up to acknowledge that Winter mystery and jubilation doesn’t begin and end with Judeo-Christian tradition. Nor does the variety of observances demand mutual exclusivity or the value of one transcendence over another. The romance of Paulette and Stuart is unconventional: quirky, humorous, authentic and audacious. Norton, Kastner and Love create an other worldly intersection between mortals and countless deities that’s sweet, warm and engaging.
Theatre 3 presents: Solstice: A New Holiday Adventure, playing December 6th-30th, 2018. 2800 Routh Street, Suite 168, Dallas, Texas 75201. 214-871-3300. theatre3dallas.com