Allan Zeller and Kimberly Squires of Milford have the unique ability to meet as strangers and fall spontaneously in love at 8 p.m. and then ten minutes later be ready, willing and able to kill each other with whatever weapon is handy, like an axe. This talented husband and wife acting team put on and take off personas the way other people hunt for the perfect winter coat at Macy's, carefully and with style.
For an entertaining treat, come meet Zeller and Squires at the top of their game at the historic Lyric Hall in Westville for "Delightful Differences: An Evening of One Act Plays," weekends at 8 p.m. on November 4 and 5, and 11 and 12. Come an hour earlier for a musical serenade in the lounge courtesy of Cathy Szebo's engaging vocals, with PJ Letersky at the ivories.
Zeller and Squires have dabbled in the works of a half dozen Connecticut playwrights in fashioning a night of vignettes that showcase their wide range of acting chops. Frederick Stroppel has penned a trio of selections that begin with a couple bickering over a trip to the mall right before Christmas. Finding a parking spot in general and securing their godson's specific Nerf gun gift almost cause World War III, but with bombs of humor, in "Miracle at the Mall."
Stroppel continues the warfare theme with "A Medical Breakthrough" when a spontaneous challenge at a party causes Mr. Moore a great deal of pain and embarrassment. The foreign object lodged in his rear must be removed by Dr. Fields, a female proctologist. His last offering also occurs at Christmas when two strangers, both hopeless, meet "On the Bridge" and plan to jump at midnight when sometiing unexpectedly magical occurs.
From Rosemary Foley come a pair of selections where Zeller and Squires play a couple brought together by a love of symphonic music in "Baroque Dating Service." Move over, eHarmony, and let Bach and Beethoven play Cupid. The fantasies continue as "He Who Would Be Frog" hops into a psychiatrist's office hoping to be cured of his love of all things green and discovers his doctor is masquerading as Little Red Riding Hood.
Get down your rifle and clean and polish it for Elizabeth Keyser's "Shooting Practice" as a father and daughter struggle over the ethics of gun control. Things can get even more heated in a screenwriter's office when a 007 character mock shoots a scene for a movie and causes sparks to fly with Drew Denbaum's "Succulent."
The sparks really ignite in Jim Gordon's "The Agreement" when a cheating wife tries to blackmail her husband into a lucrative divorce settlement. The tables definitely turn in this suspense thriller.
Planning a 50th surprise birthday party becomes increasingly intimate when event planner Sheree meets John at his office and finds herself running behind, in front of and around his desk, seeking cover, in Susan Cinoman's "Little Sins." John has a little surprise party planned for someone other than his wife.
For tickets ($25), call the Lyric Hall, 827 Whalley Avenue, New Haven at 203-389-8885 or online at www.lyrichallnewhaven.com.
Come let Allan Zeller and Kimberly Squires entertain you as strangers, dating couples, husband and wife, doctor and patient, father and daughter and acting partners, all in a jam packed nine plays that reveal just how talented and diverse their skills are...and delightfully and differently so.
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