It’s not often that I find a play too short. Usually the opposite is the case: I discover that I’ve wandered into the theatrical equivalent of a long traffic jam, and while everyone around me can escape off the nearest ramp, I’m obligated to stay in the mess till the very end. After all, what if something miraculous were to happen late in act two? What if the writing or the acting were suddenly to soar? Chained to my seat by such scruples, I’ve several times had to endure the full length of a terrible play. If I hadn’t been a critic, I would have hightailed it at intermission.
But too short a play: that’s a rare occasion. So in that regard at least, Sweet Storm is extraordinary. Scott Hudson’s 75-minute love story introduces us to two Tampa Bay area characters, helps us learn some important details about them, shows them making a little progress in their romance – and then, abruptly, it’s over. Say what? Weren’t we just getting acquainted?
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2011.