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THE BIG BANG, THEATER STYLE |
BOOM
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“Sex to change the course of the world” blares the publicity for this fascinating play written by one of the country’s up and coming young authors, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. Most people would laugh that off as hyperbole, but they would be mistaken. It is no joke that prompts Jules (magnificently brought to life by Samuel E. Wilkes) to place an ad on Craig’s List seeking a woman who would be willing to have sex with him. So when Jo (equally well played by Kerry McCue) arrives on the scene she is ready to jump into bed. But, that is not exactly what Jules has in mind! And the rest of the play is devoted to the unraveling of his ingenious plan to repopulate the world. At the risk of giving too much away, I will not describe the plot in any more detail. Suffice to say that the setting is a subterranean ichthyology laboratory (in itself a rather strange location), and that the play takes place before and after an occasion which can only be likened to The Big Bang. Add to this the fact that the entire action of the play is completely controlled by one very savvy, adorably pixie-like woman named Barbara (superbly delineated by Cathy Dresbach, one of the finest actresses in the Phoenix area) and you have all the ingredients for a wildly hilarious, supremely provocative and totally outrageous comic production. Director Ron May is at his finest, moving his characters around like a Machiavellian expert and mining every inch of humor from a very clever script. The premise is delightfully bizarre and the manner in which May directs his cast is superb. From McCue’s physical gyrations to Dresbach’s quirky antics, the artistry of the director is obvious. With lesser actors, May might have had a problem but with these three he has a treasure trove of talent with which to sculpt this fabulous tale. From the opening moments when Dresbach breaks the fourth wall and appears in front of the curtain (ostensibly to give the curtain speech but actually to set the tone of the show) to the closing scene where Dresbach is once again alone on stage, but this time disheveled and totally out of control after being “fired” from her “job” as a museum docent who runs an exhibit which explains “creation”, we are amazed at the clever plot twists. Along the way, Nachtrieb waxes wisely about topics such as the decline of morality in our society, the sad state of journalism today, the limitations of our lives – “physical, cognitive, budgetary”, the absurd insinuation of politics into every aspect of human endeavor (a clever reference to Halliburton is key here), and several discussions of the place of religion and the fate of mankind with or without it. The social satire is creative and hits its mark beautifully. Bit by bit, Barbara takes over and the two actors in the exhibit become simply pawns in her manipulations. She defends what she has done by saying, “If I had not interfered with passion, this would not have happened,” and she exults at the final curtain that she will now open her own museum to tell the true story of mankind. Jo and Jules leave the stage to face the future, whatever that may be for them. And the play is over. But it has made its mark on an audience which, somewhat stunned but entirely pleased by the hysteria it has witnessed files out. If you want to have an equally pleasurable yet provocative experience, by all means go to see BOOM before it ends on November 8. It is a one of a kind show – you won’t be disappointed!
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