By Davi Koszka, 2/23/11
I found the summary of the experience and lessons offered by Parallel Lives, written by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy, in a line near the end of Act Two: “Who cares?! Everyone marches to their own individual drum cycle.”
My expectations were high. I witnessed Lauren O’Neill in previous performances and was well aware of her comedic timing, character versatility and the locally common comparison to Carol Burnett. I also heard tell of Elizabeth Lord, local storyteller and brilliant comedienne.
This, in combination with the Parallel Lives poster on the Midnight Sun window quoting one of the more uproarious skits, “Thongs: you used to wear them on your feet; now you wear them on your butt,” set the bar high.
These two skillful women, with Director Josh Anderson and the design and technical teams, not only raised the bar, but did a double back flip, caught an even higher bar by the ankle propelling them skyward into a triple twist and landing the maneuver with more courage, confidence and determination than Kerri Strug.
The tapestry, woven by the 34 different characters throughout the production’s 15 vignettes, provides a mirror for the audience to see reflections of our lives and the choices we make in a post-modern world still riding the wake of the 1960s and 70s cultural revolution, identity politics and feminist movement. The audience is faced with the duplicity inherent in the choices we make: the decision to stand-by while others are made fun of, judgment of another’s life decisions to provide some sense of security for our own, or societal expectations of women to perfectly balance the virgin-whore dichotomy. The evening ends up as slap in the face that leaves your cheeks sore from the sting and abs spasming from the laughter.
The lights dim and the constellation of stage marking tape glows on the floor. The production opens with two heavenly beings creating the biology, beliefs, and constructs of sex and gender in a celestial brainstorm. The play moves on, and O’Neill captures the essence of a mouthbreathing teenage boy to the point where even her facial structure seems to fade back and the character’s steps forward.
Lord takes her turn with a memorable scene in which she portrays a drunken barfly Hank with a big dream, little follow through and an incredible ability to talk, laugh, yell and stumble with a cigarette hanging out of the right corner of his lips. 
O’Neill matches Lord and together they illustrate the codependency of gender roles: resigned to the game and with pet names like “sweetmeat.” Act One finishes at a fast pace with coiffed, housewife wigs and farcical meta-commentary on the overt sexism of the one our great societal commentators, Shakespeare.
Act Two takes a small dip in pace from the clip of Act One but is punctuated by a stark, contrasting and poignant sketch about the abortion debate before a quick crescendo to the grand finale which will leave you in utter awe as the actresses exclaim, “ O golden labia of Goddess love, so let your champagne flow!”
Ultimately the audience leaves with a comic awareness of our society and its expectations and a greater appreciation for the human experiences of the stranger
walking down the street: I’m okay; You’re delightful! ◙
Parallel Lives plays February 24, 25, and 26, at 8 PM, at the Midnight Sun (113 N
Columbia). Tickets are $12.