Hockey Night at the Puck and Pickle Pub - Impeccable Timing

Veteran Fringe actors Jon Paterson and playwright Ryan Gladstone work together seamlessly in this deceptively simple comedy. Not a hockey fan? Do not worry, you can still have a great time at the game.

This play takes the liberty of presupposing a Canada vs. Russia gold metal game at Sochi in 2014. It is five in the morning at the pub; who is going to be there?

Some middle-aged guys, some old geezers, some hockey moms doubling as cougars, some statistics-mad obsessives, a couple on a first date, a Canadian and Russian who are colleagues, and on TV, two announcers, one who bullies the other. The two actors play all of these parts, switching between the pairs with aplomb.

Trivia, social commentary, hockey violence, the tension between how things are and the way they used to be - these are all themes of this play. Hockey fans will no doubt especially enjoy the play-by-play construction of this hypothetical dramatic championship game. Nerds will love the constant interspersing of 60 or so years of hockey trivia and hockey debates. Romantic comedy fans will love the awkward first-date scenes.

The timing of the piece is impeccable. You do feel like you are in a nail-biting, continually exciting game. It is fun to speculate whether Crosby or Luongo would really act that way in such a game. The excitement continues to the last second of the game and beyond.

The Sunday afternoon production I saw sold out, and I would expect that to continue. Get your tickets now, and who knows, you might even get a preview of 2014 Olympic hockey action.