Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Not Every Card’

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Not Every Card is a 50’s style caper in an occupied country which may or may not exist when the underground resistance conceives to win a card game and thus the war. It was written and directed Emmanuel Wazer. It’s a breezy story with a tense plot as a gambler is tapped to play cards with the leader of the opposition over a woman. I’m not exactly sure why; I lost the plot a bit of the way through and it was a challenge to keep up with who was on what side and who was in love with whom, but it wasn’t completely necessary because every moment was pretty entertaining. It was stuffed to the gills with slick costumes, card tricks, and a dash of gambler’s philosophy to make the rest go down easy. I also appreciated the gender bending roles not typical of the usual caper. The card shark and the main resistance fighter are both women who absolutely refuse to be rescued and run rings around most of the men onstage while wearing fabulous suits and boots.

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The other actors all breeze through their roles as gamblers and soldiers – delighting in their evil plan. Felix is the hapless wing man who looks great in a vest; the soldiers all revel in their roles as the villains and the whole thing centers on Vincent, looking great in a slick, grey suit as he tries to con everyone…or so it seems.

Here’s the talented cast: The lead actors are Jacob Clark as Vincent (the con man), Emily Gilson as Elizabeth (the resistance fighter), Eric Kruzikas played Timothy (Leader of the Occupation) Lainie Pahos as the Card Shark, Sebastian, and Jonathan Miot as Felix. Supporting cast includes Eric Kruzikas, Bilan Walker, Niko Tarlay, Robby Priego, and Clifford Cartel.

Though I didn’t quite know what was going on, it was entirely besides the point. This is a bit of summer fun complete with opening titles, machine guns, fights to the death and a con man who cons them all. Not Every Card is a fun summer treat.

Running Time: 70 minutes.

Not Every Card plays through July 26, 2014 at Mountain – Mount Vernon United Methodist Church – 900 Massachusetts Avenue, in Washington D.C. For performance times and to purchase tickets, visit their Capital Fringe Page.

A preview on DCMetroTheaterArts.

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Jessica Vaughan
Jessica Vaughan hails from Boulder, Colorado and the University thereof. She has a degree in English and creative writing, though she's dabbled in theater her entire life She moved to DC the week of Snowmageddon and promptly camped out in the Kennedy Center. By day she works for a national non-profit and as a freelance writer specializing in newsletters for small businesses and by night she spends her time Irish dancing and discovering the obscure corners of the DC theater scene, which she was thrilled to discover is every bit as awesome as New York or London (without the skyscrapers and incessant honking).

1 COMMENT

  1. Hi, Jessica! thanks so much for the great review!

    We’re really sorry there were no programs; we had extenuating circumstances and weren’t able to get them printed in time. But we would love for you to know who we are! The lead actors are Jacob Clark as Vincent (the con man), Emily Gilson as Elizabeth (the resistance fighter), Lainie Pahos as the Card Shark, Sebastian, and Jonathan Miot as Felix. Supporting cast includes Eric Kruzikas, Bilan Walker, Niko Tarlay, Robby Priego, and Clifford Cartel. We hope you can include our names and roles in here somehow! :)

    Again, thank you so much for the great write-up and we are glad you had a good time!

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