As much as I enjoy seeing the classics on stage it’s also nice when I see something that’s new to me. Such is the opportunity presented by Pygmalion Productions in their new play at Rose Wagner Black Box called Be Here Now. This is an entertaining little play that balances both humor and heart well making for a pleasant evening at the theatre.

The premise for Be Here Now is a simple one. It focuses on a middle-aged woman named Bari who lives in a small town in upstate New York and is disenchanted and frustrated by the world. She in many ways is like Jack Nicholson’s character in As Good as It Gets or if you saw a little movie called Hard Truths from last year the lead characters are very similar. Bari is a cynical character and she is struggling to find the motivation to finish her doctorate dissertation so she can continue teaching classes on nihilism at the community college. You have to be pretty cynical to be cynical about nihilism!

Things get messy when Bari starts getting seizures which cause her to have flashes of brilliance and hope. Then she is left with the question of does she fix the problem for her health or keep having the seizures which make her happy?

Such a straightforward black box play is very reliant on the material and the ability of the actors to translate said material to the audience. All of the actors are terrific at Pygmalion especially April Fossen playing Bari. She reminded me a lot of Oscar winning actress Kathy Bates. She is sarcastic and even a little rude but there’s always a little more going on in the background of her performance and the other actors help bring that out with their performances.

The set by Allen Smith is relatively simple with a wall of junk that is transformed to a yoga studio, fulfillment center and home to name a few settings. They also have sound (Mikal Troy Klee) and lighting (Chad Henwood) elements that are worked in quite seamlessly into the story by director Jason Bowcutt.

I do think the play tries to tackle too much for 90 minutes with the severe trauma that is behind the scenes with Mike (Matthew Sincell) who Bari goes on a blind date with. I don’t know if the script can adequately deal with all of Bari’s issues and Mikes. It’s too much and starts to feel like a pile-on after a while. Also Bari’s sarcastic humor gets a little old after a while.

But Be Here Now at Pygmalion comes down to the script by Deborah Zoe Laufer that is both funny and thoughtful and the performances by Fossen and others. It’s definitely worthy of your time and should give you some laughs and a few things to talk about as you leave the theater. It is playing through May 17th and tickets can be purchased here.

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