Astronaut of the Year

Founded two years ago by novelist Joe Meno and friends, the Go Cougars! ensemble has produced a handful of offerings, most recently as part of the 2002 Rhinoceros Theater Festival. Their current production, “Astronaut of the Year,” is composed of three unrelated one-acts brimming with potential.

What the troupe lacks in directorial and dramaturgical savvy, it makes up for with some excellent writing and a few key performances. The best two plays of the trio deal with teen angst, and they have (this is meant as a compliment) a Judy Blume-like humor. Meno’s “Haunted Trails” centers on a flabby kid turned punk rock teenager (Meghan Lee) and her geeky next-door neighbor (Joe Tower, playing floppy-limbed intensity like nobody’s business) who is a lot cooler than anyone suspects. “Astronomy for Losers,” written by and starring James Vickery, is the story of an appealingly gawky 16-year-old and his crush on a fellow classmate. Vickery’s nuanced performance, equal parts sweat and exasperated twitter, is right on the money. The production values for each play leave much to be desired — even by small theater standards — yet by the end, the homemade quality wins you over” Chicago Tribune