A LaGoDi Production of LapBand Texas is a country-style comedy-drama with a twist or better yet… carbs. The show tells the story of an over-weight mother and her two daughters as they all struggle dealing with each other’s personal disorders. When the mother played by the very talented Michael Brassfield has a heart attack, her and her two daughters re-evaluate their relationship as well as their own lives.

The show has a slow flow in transitions and the story seems to stretch too much into the mundane. The dialogue is written to set a mood into the lives of everyday dialogue, but the story seems unexciting to come together. The stage was stale with a bunch of trash thrown into the beginning of the scene to be then moved away in scene transition. Costumes designed by Jessica DiBattista seem carelessly put together. Michael Brassfield’s costume for example, he had to fit a fat suit into something that seemed to be designed specifically not for that purpose. You could tell he was wearing a fat suit for the sake of looking like an overweight southern woman, but you could also make the argument that he looked like a dis-proportioned body builder with a rare disease that caused him to have gigantic tumors all around his body. At one point he wore a kimono, which seemed to fit better with the fat suit.

Laura Westman’s performance as the main character of the story seems at times difficult for even her to believe. She plays two roles and the other character she plays feels oddly familiar to her main role. The Music, written by Cullen Ruff, is mildly amusing and it doesn’t create the emotional breaking point in the story I think it was suppose to create. Maggie Dempsey’s performance as supporting actress however is absolutely brilliant. She perfectly embodies both characters she plays in the show, demonstrating a wide range of abilities; she pretty much carries the show.

Production Team

• Costumes: Jessica Dibattista
• Music: Cullen Ruff

Cast

• Maggie Dempsey
• Patrick Murray
• David Carter
• Michael Brassfield
• Laura Westman

Disclaimer: Capital Fringe provided one complimentary media ticket to ShowBizRadio for this review.