WITH BATED BREATH: Sex Zombies Invade a Midwest Town in Mark-Eugene Garcia’s comedy

The first words spoken in the sold-out October 5th afternoon reading of Mark-Eugene Garcia’s With Bated Breath are courtesy of David Rigano as he introduces a character known as “Old Lady Warner”.  She’s the owner of Warner’s Corner Store in the tiny town of Virgin, Minnesota (Population: 205.3) Played by the anything-but-old-lady-like Kirstin Wolf, with her “cat” on her lap, the introduction to this small-town saga PERFECTLY establishes the zany spirit of the show we were about to see…  As it turns out, Wolf’s character boasts many of the play’s funniest one-liners.  But let’s not get too far ahead…  Most importantly, this “Old Lady” is skilled at storytelling… and what a story she has to tell!
With Bated Breath, written by Mark-Eugene Garcia, received a staged reading at New York City’s Under St. Mark’s Theatre as part of FRIGID NYC. 

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Directed by Rodrigo Ernesto Bolaños, the reading had all of the professionalism, energy, and creative depth of a fully staged production. This was largely thanks to the smart script by Garcia, the fluid direction by Bolaños, and– most of all– the acting talents of the well-chosen, diverse cast of eight players.  With Bated Breath explores several serious, enduring issues, including prejudice/bigotry, sexual repression, and the thin line between faith and blind allegiance.  But first and foremost, this show is a comedy.  All of the seven on-stage actors excel at the art of making us laugh, whether through Garcia’s snappy script or through the art of wordless comedy.  Since four of the six actors perform multiple roles (which is often the case in staged readings), the cast even gets to create additional humor via their quick transitions between characters– which sometimes happen within one line of Rigano’s stage direction.  Dylan Glick’s simple trading of a pigtailed wig for a baseball cap to change from “Mona” to “Ulaf”, therefore, gets the audience into the farcical spirit just as much as lines like, “At times I feel vulnerable: trembling like a titmouse alone in the dark woods!”    
    
With Bated Breath takes place in the town of Virgin, Minnesota (Population: 205.3 again), which is ostensibly governed by the cute and well-meaning, but sadly socially awkward and politically impotent Mayor Frankie (C-Mac).  However, the town is actually ruled with a heavy cross hand by Pastor Johnson (played perfectly by TJ D’Angelo), who seems incapable of speaking any words with any tone below a bluster.  With patented lines like “Seduction brings about destruction!”, the Pastor regularly rales against the usual scapegoats (Drumroll please…): Latinos, “liberals”, homosexuals, etc.  This over-the-top character may seem like a stereotype, but history has given real-life characters like this a new cultural significance: Pastor Johnson actually seems more realistic than ever in 2025. When Dr. Corazon De La Fuente (Martha Lorena Preve) determines that tiny Virgin, Minnesota (Population: STILL 205.3…) is the seemingly ideal place to open a factory, the seemingly dim population (with characters known colloquially as “Blondie” and “What’s Her Face”) get excited.  However, their excitement goes limp when it comes to light that the factory will be manufacturing vague “sex pills”.  For a town which rallies against “drugs and sex and such”, with Pastor Johnson’s biggest fear being “Ch-ch-ch-CHANGE!”, this becomes quite a scandal, infuriating the Pastor and putting the factory worker Oliver “Tiny” Cox (Michael Lee Salinas) in danger.   An unknown saboteur causes a cooling system failure and explosion at the factory, allowing fumes from the sex drugs to enter the Virgin air.  After being repressed so long, true sexual feelings and even sexual orientations are revealed, as well as a few Peyton Place-esque revelations.  Even Dr. Cora, presumably the smartest character in the show, feels the need to give in to some carnal temptations, while Mayor Frankie secretly puppy-loves the beautiful doctor her from a distance. Will the Mayor win Dr. Cora’s affections?  Will Pastor Johnson get his just deserts? Will the town of Virgin drift into complete sexual anarchy? Will it be Utopia… or Gomorrah?  

As mentioned before, the cast are all excellent at comedy. Here’s one example:  Intentionally or not, so much humor is found with Mayor Frankie’s constant self-deprecative comments about his face being “blank” or “common”; This character is played by C-Mac, whose features and gift for that aforementioned wordless comedy make the actor the LAST person you’d expect to be invisible.  Everyone gets their moments in the spotlight, with standout Erin Solér reading the roles of both the Pastor’s horny yet well-mannered son “Randy Johnson” as well as a girl literally named “What’s Her Face” (Mark-Eugene Garcia is NOT a subtle playwright when it comes to his works of comedy…)
Like the fumes from the “sex pill” factory in Virgin, Minnesota (Popu… oh, never mind…), let’s hope With Bated Breath invades YOUR town sometime soon in a fully staged production!
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With Bated Breath continues on Sunday, October 12 at 4PM at Under St. Mark’s Theatre, 94 St. Mark’s Place, NYC.  Visit  Tickets.Frigid.NYC for tickets and more information!