Seattleplays.com review By Tom Scanlon
				Shoppers Carried By Escalators Into the Flames Theater Schmeater Nov. 4-Dec. 10
		The normally reliable Theater Schmeater disappoints with its production of “Shoppers etc.,” a Denis Johnson play that lives up to its excessive title. It begins with great promise, sort of Sam Shephard on acid, as a trailer-esque California extended family – alcoholic brother, jailbird brother, looking-for-religion father, quirky grandma, lost sister – gather around a TV that talks back to them. There are a handful of other surreal moments that Johnson (best known for the film adaptation of his “Jesus’ Son”) sprinkles like angel dust on the often-harsh play.      The humor of a crisp, well-acted first act fades into redundancy, as “Shoppers” goes from hilarious to funny to amusing to bland to repetitive to annoying-as-hell, descending into the flames itself, you might say. Johnson’s writing loses its freshness, and he falls back on stereotypes and predictable behavior.     Director Rob West loses his grip on things, allowing the cast to turn the latter scenes into a yell-fest, unfortunately mistaking screaming for emotion; it becomes an only slightly more interesting experience than watching Jerry Springer. (Or was that the point . . .?)     “Shoppers” is most memorable for some outstanding supporting acting. Brandon Whitehead is brilliantly funny and riveting in an understated way, exploring with subtle mannerisms a minister stumbling through a middle-of-the-night marriage. James Weidman, as another secondary character (Gib), has an extraordinary sense of irony, bringing a refined comic touch to otherwise uninspired scenes. Terri Weagant is wonderful when she lists the reasons she doesn’t want to return to her ex-husband. Michael Perrone is excellent – until the writing starts to drag his character down – as the confused, TV-zombified father.      And Lauri Watkins do nice work with a ridiculous role (semi-retarded “angelic” character).      Roy Stanton and Erik Hill have some nice moments as the brothers, until the yelling begins . . .      This is the second of three Johnson plays Schmeater has planned, under the heading “The Cassandra Cycle.”