Audio By Carbonatix
In this modern age, two things seem to constantly be in the forefront of our minds, the media, everything: comedy and war. The laugh of the day versus violence in some part of the world. Strange, that pair. They fit together better than one would expect based on definitions alone. But time and time again, we see how one is a key player in the other’s survival…and both are seemingly key in our society’s status. Fictional and nonfictional depictions of soldiers always have that one shot of the uniformed cutting up and laughing before a tragic explosion occurs or feared assignment comes down. But its life — humor gets us through. That’s why there are USO comedy tours, no? And while elements of war can sometimes be fodder for a joke, it’s really that something so terrible makes us appreciate the comedy and want it around even more. The Birthday Boys is a play about three Marines kidnapped from the legendarily secure Al Asad Airbase in Iraq. What they go through during their blindfolded stay in a warehouse far from safety is a certain test of their humor, and will place audiences squarely on seat-edge, though they may at times teeter a bit with laughter. Playwright Aaron Kozak is a Grapevine native, but the Birthday Boys has already had a successful run in Los Angeles. See it 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday at the Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. Tickets are $15, $12 for theater VIPs and $10 for military veterans. Visit thetexastheatre.com.
May 26-29, 8 p.m., 2011
