St. Louis Premiere of 'Crumple Zone' Features Clayton Actors

Playwright Buddy Thomas' "The Crumple Zone" is a story about a gay household with a love triangle on the verge of exploding at Christmastime. The play premiered in 2000 in New York and will debut this year in St. Louis—featuring two actors with Clayton ties—as part of the second season of the revamped Citilites Theatre.

The company began in 1994 but closed because of financial difficulties.

Thomas named the play after the part of an automobile that is designed to absorb the impact from a collision. That's the role of the play's driving character, Terry, an unemployed actor with a flamboyant and ebullient personality who tries to hold the parts—or people—together in this farcical comedy.

Keith Thompson, a stockbroker at Stifle Nicholaus in Clayton, plays the manic Terry. While he has no plans to give up his day job as a stockbroker, he does have a good deal of performance experience. He has previously worked at Six Flags, Busch Gardens, , That Uppity Theatre Company and St. Louis Actors' Studio. He has also served as a judge of the Kevin Kline Awards and serves on its new board of directors.

“I'm more of a performer,” Thompson said. “But I like watching the script come to life—the story, the lines.”

Clayton resident Antonio Rodriguez plays Matt, one of five characters in the play's relationship whirlwind. A graduate of Washington University, Rodriguez majored in music but took acting and dance classes simultaneously.

“I've done theater since I was young but never thought of doing it as a career,” Rodriguez said. “I've always used my collective experience to do whatever I could do in arts.”

For Thompson, the role of Terry couldn't be more different than the normal dignified nature he maintains as a stockbroker.

“It's a stretch for me,” Thompson said. “I had to let go with the character and let insanity reign. My character's sweet, kind—well, he's not always kind—but he's crazy, and he plays most of the second act drunk. That's a stretch.”

At its core, the story in “The Crumple Zone” is a universal theme familiar to most.

“It's a very simple story,” Rodriquez said. “But it's difficult to pull off. It's just about a break-up and how people deal with that. The story could be about men and women. They just happen to be gay. But the story applies to everyone.”

Thompson agrees.

“The character's can be male or female,” Thompson said. “But it boils down to relationships and infidelity. Holding it together when you find yourself in all of that drama. This is just five different ways of going about it.”

What: “The Crumple Zone,” presented by Citilites Theatre
Where: The Gaslight Theater, 358 N. Boyle Ave. St. Louis, Central West End
When: Thurday-Saturday, 8pm; Sunday, 7pm; Through July 24
Tickets: $15-$20. For tickets call (314) 773-1879 or visit Brown Paper Tickets.