REVIEWS of Love’s a Thin Diet by Amy Losi and !POOF! by Sarah Vindigm, directed by Laurie Rae Waugh at American Theater for Actors: These shows are currently running on a double bill at ATA’s Beckmann Theater and they could not be more different from each other in subject, quality, or runtime.

Love’s a Thin Diet is a short, intense date rape play. I don’t believe there is any trigger warning provided, but even someone who has never been involved in a date rape scenario will be emotionally challenged by this show’s content within a minute of lights up.

Even the most hardened individual will feel their skin crawl as we watch English Professor Oliver Randall (Alan Hamas) intimidate student Catherine (Joelle Rasko) into sexual contact. We next see Randall confronted by his ex-wife, Aphra Behn (Amanda Cannon) about his grooming habit including when he seduced her as his student. Behn and Catherine conspire to destroy Randall’s career and his life. Next Randall is confronted by Department Head Helen (Amy Losi) who uses his own tactics on him to make him face the true extent of his predatory behavior.

The play’s intensity and subject means that it is not for everyone (but only 1 person left early). The acting is terrific, but the play, even at only 32 minutes, is probably about twice as long as it should be. It makes its point early and then drives the point home again and again.

!POOF!, on the other hand, is a show where many people left early, not because of the subject, but because of the quality. Where Waugh probably had actors beating down her door to play in Love’s a Thin Diet, she probably had trouble finding actors willing to associate themselves with POOF and that makes an already bad play that much worse. The premise is that a “progressive” organization is taking over seats of “power” (literally the power grid) to force an equal distribution of wealth and power. They kidnap the CEO of a NY power company and his abused contract employee and explain how 1% of the population is exploiting the other 99% and how they, with a plan backed by their “moral authority”, will, with the threat of destroying the economy, make the world a better place for all.

None of the “progressives’” argument against the power are wrong. But, unfortunately, like many progressive arguments (both on the right and left), they rely on the “morality” of their personal convictions to determine what “plan” would be best for the world. The KKK relied/relies on similar arguments for “morality” to justify its actions. “Moral” certitude is never a good thing in a society looking for and needing personal freedom. POOF starts poorly and gets worse. Although not overly long at 75 minutes, it would be better if it had never started.