Gutterthief
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Company Name: Derek Trautwein
City/State: Local
Genre: Comedy
Ratings: R - Adult Content
Playwright: Derek Trautwein
Premiere: Yes
Warnings: Simulated smoking onstage.
Venue: City Stage Theatre in Union Station
Show Times:
Fri, 7/21 9:00 PM
Sat, 7/22 10:30 PM
Sun, 7/23 7:30 PM
Wed, 7/26 6:00 PM
Thu, 7/27 9:00 PM
Description:
Just another day in the neighborhood where no one is getting along and nobody can stay out of each other's gutters. Rick and Trish have come to collect, Sheila wants to keep an eye on things, Morgan and Lane just want to live quietly, and why is Logan sneaking around? On this particular day, one event leads to another and a community realizes what a divided group of people can accomplish with little effort and lots of listening in this bizarrely wholesome exploration of off the grid suburbia.
Cast/Crew:
Cast: Dawn Youngs, Larry Goodman, Jeannie Blau, Jessica Whitfield, Shawn Murphy, Brian Duskey, Joshua Walker and Terraye Watson.
Past Fringe Shows:
2022 The Spooky Sh*t Show
Deceit
Revelations
Lookin' for a Fight
The Islander
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Gutterthief is a comedy about a neighborhood and a gutter dispute.
What started as pointed jokes and slapstick style comedy led to a white savior moment regarding the harassment of a black man by a police officer. It’s likely meant to induce a feeling of community among the neighbors; however, it rings as good white people versus racist, bad white people. This plot design makes it evident that it was written by a white, Midwestern man. The simulated smoking onstage is listed as a trigger warning, but there should also be a trigger warning for law enforcement.
The two characters of color are not even listed as cast on the Fringe website, even though they were more present than the police officer character.
Gutterthief was a fantastic show! The set is fun! The bits are well done! The pantomining was on point! It addresses ideas that our new to our area of the U.S., but old issues that need to be addressed constantly. It really is a beautiful display of community and how they look out for one another!
I came to this show because I loved their Fringe show last year, The Spooky Sh*t Show, and they did not disappoint. The script is witty, humorous, and poignant, and the actors pull it off perfectly. The audience was engaged with the action during the play and laughed through most of it. I was especially impressed with the high level of physical comedy- these performers knew what they were doing! I would love to watch a full-length play from this company.
If there are two things in the world of theatre that I absolutely love, they are realism and physical comedy. Gutterthief gave me both, and it was great! The dialogue is hilarious and the characters are all very relatable. Most importantly, the show teaches us that even though it’s so easy to fight with one another, it’s even easier to take a moment to chill the f*ck out and just vibe with one another for a little while. Kudos to all involved!
I really enjoyed the show. Derek always creates interesting characters. All of the actors are outstanding!
Had such a great time watching this show. The characters were very dynamic and natural. The chemistry between the actors was fantastic! Would definitely recommend this show!
Gutterthief won’t disappoint. This show keeps you guessing until the end. The acting is great, set is perfect, plot is multilayered. Loved it, don’t miss it if you haven’t seen it yet.
Interesting weaving of fun characters sharing a neighborhood. Funny, thoughtful well-written and well delivered insights of who we live next to, who might move in, challenges (internal and external threats), family dynamics, sharing spaces, what can divide us, what can bring us together. Very talented team (all of them) to deliver us that much in an hour. Great play!
Keeps you laughing throughout! You don’t want to miss this one!
Derek and the cast delivered a well executed, realistic, inner ring, suburb story.
The denizens of the Gutterthief world are believable. This believability made the self medicating humor tragic. The aggressive policing portrayed was frightening.
I recommend Gutterthief for those making an offer on their first home.
Funny as hell. My side hurts from laughing.
Hilarious! Simply hilarious. .my was almost too funny. I think I missed a few jokes while I was laughing at the last one. A good time had by all.
Gutterthief was great! I really enjoyed the comedic timing. It seemed that everyone was working together well as an ensemble which is important for this type of show. I did not do any research on the show beforehand and boy was I happily surprised! It’s not what I expected but it had me cackling.
Really enjoyed the original script that co-director Derek wrote! Great stage pictures captured by both Kristen & Derek. Great performances given by all actors involved!! The actor who played Rick had my friends and I laughing the whole show.