“How We First Met” offers witty, spontaneous and hilarious production

By Stephanie Wright Hession
Arts and Culture Writer

The beauty of Jill Bourque's idea for a theatrical production lies in its simplicity and universal appeal. As the creator and director of "How We First Met," an improvisational show which opened Feb. 2 at Theatre 39 in San Francisco, Bourque focuses upon couples and the personal tales of how they first came to know each another.

The evening begins when French girl Claudette Berchand (played delightfully by Sarah Delaney), dressed oh so Parisian in a red beret, black and white striped shirt and black pants, romps through the audience. She's accompanied by Johnny Cupid (played charmingly by Paul Erskine), who dons a crimson ruffled shirt and black pants.Together they gather cards from couples in the audience-straight, gay, newly dating and longtime married-that convey the often humorous details of the how and when of their first meeting.

From there Bourque reads the cards to the audience and whittles it down to three couples. After she speaks to the finalists at greater length, the audience votes for its favorite couple via enthusiastic applause. The winning couple joins Bourque on stage and sits on a bright red couch, next to her coordinating chair.

Next comes the casting, when Delaney, Erskine, Derek Cochran (Ribeye T. Carter) and Susie Sargent (Wendy Whitfield) audition and the couple decides which of the two actors will portray them. This is where the mirth begins.

As Borque interviews the couple, on this particular night Lucy and Helmut, the cast gives renditions of what's being discussed. Since it's improv, the couple and the audience don't know what to expect. For Lucy and Helmut, Delaney performed a melodramatic interpretive dance called "The Anticipation," Erskine turned rock star, compete with electric guitar, Sargent sang a saucy, blues number and Cochran performed a beat poem. All resulted in engaging performances that caused audience members to laugh hysterically.

Now in its seventh year, "How We First Met" originally started as a one night show on Valentine's Day 2001 at the Bayfront Theater in San Francisco. First produced by Bourque and her brother Damon, it's now been performed in the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia.

"How We First Met," plays an ongoing run at Theatre 39 at Pier 39, Beach Street and The Embarcadero in San Francisco. For tickets ($38-65) call (415) 433-3939 or visit www.howwefirstmet.com.