First of all, Big Pants and Botox is a FANTASTIC show! In terms both heart-warming and hilarious, Barbara recounts the circumstances surrounding her milestone 50th birthday, an event she finds no need to celebrate. Preparing for her daughter’s wedding, she finds herself almost single and convincing a detective that she has nothing to hide concerning her husband’s disappearance.
In Louise Roche’s brilliant script, Tammy Zinkhon Hyde is a one-woman tour de force whose Barbara lives in between mother and daughter, hello and goodbye, who will prompt everyone to proclaim, ”I know her!” By the show’s end, you will love her!
Now. Where to begin to tell you why this show is extra special. No secret, I’m keen in this life to relationships, that’s what it’s all about, and although we do love to laugh and have a bit of fluff (Harry’s Hotter is a recent example), there is nothing I enjoy more in directing than digging deep into the relationships of the characters. That’s usually a restricted practice; once all the movement is blocked out and the entrances and exits are coordinated and you’re working with a cast of 3, 4, or a dozen characters, then exploring the depth of the show in a hobby atmosphere only gets so much time. You do what you can but rehearsals are the ends of busy days and people have places to be.
Then along comes Big Pants. A one-woman show. One woman (Tammy Zinkhon Hyde is one brilliant woman!) gets all my attention. All my concentration. All my analyzing and examining and nit-picking. For hours. In one of the most perfect vehicles ever. When we first read Louise Roche’s script, we said, ”Wow, that’s good!” And then as we climbed into the story and Tammy’s characterization of Barbara and her relationships, we discovered this script isn’t just good. It’s brilliant! So I’ve got a brilliant actress in a brilliant script, so deep and warm and FUNNY! and alive and real… And hours and hours to craft this show into one of the finest things I have ever had a hand in making. This is a director’s dream.
I can’t believe we’re bringing this show to the US for only it’s second visit. Tammy is the SECOND American actress to play this role. It’s never been seen in most of the country, never in Ohio, and one day some actress, Michelle Pfeiffer or Julia Louis-Dreyfus or Jamie Lee Curtis is going to snap this up and take it to Broadway, and Gilda Shedstecker’s Tammy will have done it before. And as fine as any of them ever could. So you should see it. If you loved Beaches, The First Wives Club, Steel Magnolias, then see Big Pants and Botox.
And one last note: another example of what makes Gilda Shedstecker Presents! special: in Harry’s Hotter this Tony-worthy actress donned a rubber mask and hammed it up playing a parody of the world’s greatest villain in a cast of nearly a dozen completely goofy characters. And in Big Pants, Tammy is it, the whole show, while her Harry co-stars Holly Barstow Riley and Jacki Dietz, both formidable actresses in their own right, work backstage to make the show happen. And as we add Big Pants to our list of theatrical achievements, the family that is Gilda Shedstecker Presents! continues to grow and deepen, those relationships ensuring the best we can provide on stage as well.
