Amy Hopper, founder of the Nova Arts Project, neatly sums up Thom Pain (based on nothing) by saying, ย“Itย’s almost as if youย’re going to see an event and this guy just stands up and starts talking to the audience assembled. Itย’s like, ย‘Is this part of the show? Or did this guy just stand up and start talking?ย’ย” Seรกn Patrick Judge, managing director of Nova Arts, plays Pain in the one-man show about a pessimistic manย’s outlook on life. ย“Thereย’s something about the cynicism mirrored with hope thatย’s very moving,ย” says Hopper. ย“The humor is very dry ย— itย’s not laugh-out-loud humor, itย’s more about recognition. The struggles he illustrates, youย’ve had those same struggles. Heย’s a character thatย’s easy to identify with. Youย’re rooting for him even though heย’s a mean kind of a bastard,ย” she laughs. ย“Itย’s new. Itย’s fresh. And itย’s going to be a Houston premiere.ย” 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through July 3, 2 p.m. Saturday July 4. DiverseWorks, 1117 East Freeway. For information, call 800-595-4849 or visit www.novaartsproject.com. $10 to $15 (July 4 matinee is pay-what-you-can).
Thursdays-Saturdays. Starts: June 18. Continues through July 4, 2009

This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2009.