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Find the Perfect Moment to See That Perfect Moment
By Crystal A. Johnson

That Perfect Moment is a delightful play which centers around four aging baby boomers in the Valley desperate to recover their lost youth. These baby boomers are aging musicians still dreaming of having a hit song to mark their place in music history. The play is written by Charles Bartlett and Jack Cooper. In their first collaboration of a full-length, Bartlett and Cooper manage to present a comical yet poignant story. Many moments throughout the play had the audience laughing out loud. Although, I was surround by baby boomers in the audience. My friend and I who are in our later 30's still found the piece to be relevant. No matter the generation, if one is in the arts from music to film they know this story.

"We started out to write something about our generation, and music was such a big part of the 60's. The play isn't autobiographical, but the characters are all based on people we knew back then," says Cooper. The playwrights, Cooper and Bartlett also share that the play was, "…conceived as a way to find meaning in these memories, but to also contemplate the political, financial and existential lost opportunities and new found possibilities of the third act of our lives." If it sounds a bit poetic, Cooper is a published poet. A play on names used on the characters. Valley dwellers should get a kick out of the names of all the characters being named after streets in Valley.

The play has an amazingly talented cast. Tait Ruppert plays Mark Vanowen, the lead character and lead singer of the band. His character probably has one of the more recognizable names of a street in the Valley. His wife is played Kelly Lester a red head who puts on a blonde wig to perform double duty as the character Woodley. The other members of the band are played by Guerin Barry(Gabriel Vesper), John Bigham (Albert Teesdale) and Bruce Katzman (Skip Chandler). Although, there a good performance by all the talent of Bigham and Katzman stand out the most. Bigham's character is easily lovable his mother earth loving hippie quality but it should not be overlooked that the comedic performance is wonderfully executed as if effortlessly. Katzman plays the character of Skip Chandler and it fits like a glove. He is a scene stealer. His character could be a schmuck; however, layers are given to the character. The combination of players makes up a well casted group.

The subplot follows the challenges of loving an eternal dreamer whose dream is unfulfilled. The Mark Vanowen character and his wife are having marital trouble. She has had enough. And the play begins with his wife packing her things to go. At first only band member Gabriel is privy to the unraveling marriage due to his arrival being in sync with Mark's wife departure. Mark avoids the question of his wife.

Otherwise the story is centered on an impending opportunity for the band to reunite to record a new song and tour. The problem is that Mark has not shared with one of the band member (with the rights to the music and band name) about the opportunity.

Director, Rick Sparks finds innovative ways to tell the story. Video is used minimally and slides at times. Sparks has won multiple theater awards for his work as director, writer, producer and more.

There are certainly some twists and turns along the way in the play. That Perfect Moment is worth catching. It runs October 3 through November 8 at the NoHo Arts Center. It is important to be on time because the play is featured in the smaller theatre. The entry-ways are necessary for the performance so guests are not allowed in after 7 after schedule performance time. Also note that parking at the theatre is limited so allow time to find street parking nearby.

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