Best Two-Man Show

Most of the time it's the stars who get all the attention. But Irish playwright Marie Jones turned all that around with her story about two extras on location in a small Irish village. The Alley's April production of Stones in His Pockets starred Todd Waite and Jeffrey Bean as the quintessential Irish blokes, working for 40 quid a day and sneaking extra slices of lemon meringue pie from the food cart. They broke our hearts with their Hollywood dreams and small-town means. But Waite and Bean did more than bring these lovable extras to life -- they actually played every part in this multicharacter show, including the movie's bratty female star and a local drug addict who commits suicide during filming. The production offered an astonishing display of the art of acting, with both performers morphing from role to role with a flip of the wrist and a turn of a head.