Penned by Neal Bell, TWO SMALL BODIES made its off-Broadway debut in 1977 and was adapted into a film in 1993. In 2025, GGC Players proudly present TWO SMALL BODIES. GGC Players celebrates live theater and stage productions and is helmed by Gloria Gifford at The Gloria Gifford Conservatory for the Performing Arts. Their exciting mission statement says it all: “We will out-produce the negativity, stay focused, over-perform like the Olympians, and put ourselves in a position where we have to fight and stretch for our passion and provide passion to all the people to whom we bring our art.”
Keith Walker and Keturah Hamilton – Photo by Guy Viau
The time is 1972, and the place is strip-joint hostess Eileen’s apartment where she lives with her two young children. Eileen (Keturah Hamilton) is a crafty and voluptuous woman who knows her way around the world – and especially men. When her two children mysteriously disappear, police detective Brann (Keith Walker/Antonio Jaramillo) shows up to investigate. A tough, no-nonsense man – and a classic noir “hero” – Brann immediately reaches the conclusion that Eileen has murdered her kids – and he is relentless in his pursuit of the seductive, savvy, and sexy mom. To quote Village Voice in 1977, “Bell writes like ice – this is work, hard, clear, and painful to the touch.” A murder mystery and an erotic thriller, it quickly becomes unclear whether finding a kidnapper/ possible murderer tops the sizzling relationship that develops between the two people who have seen too much of the world at its worst. In the reviewed performance, Keith Walker played the role of Brann.
Skillfully helmed by Gloria Gifford, TWO SMALL BODIES regales the audience with a classic noir tale of two conflicted people searching for connection – all the while surrounded by the plaintive sounds of jazz instruments sobbing their bleak passionate notes. Kudos to Keturah Hamilton and Keith Walker, who keep the tone and atmosphere of the mystery just where you’d expect it to be in the hey-day of noir. Christian Maltez’s scenic design and Raven Bowens’ costumes keep you in the heart of the 1970s, while Teagan Wilson’s light tech keeps black shadows around every corner.
For fans of film history, TWO SMALL BODIES will regale audiences with a period of time when motivations were hazy and bleak, sex was just beginning to rear its tousled head, and desperation and loneliness were the coin of the realm. The creative team has done an excellent job of creating a time machine to return the audience to a time over 50 years ago when cinema was younger and the Cold War was causing an abundance of pessimism about the future.
TWO SMALL BODIES runs through April 26, 2025, with performances at 8 p.m. on Saturdays and at 7 p.m. on Sundays. The GGC Theatre is located at 6502 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038. Tickets are $35. For information and reservations, call 310-366-5505 or go online.
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