Humana Festival 2012: The Veri**on Play

[Originally posted to the 88.1 KDHX blog]

The Veri**on Play by Lisa Kron
Directed by Nicholas Martin
Original music by Jeanine Tesori
The Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville
Through April 1, 2012

My live video blog with Joan Lipkin of The Vital Voice

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Synopsis: "When Jenni called customer service, all she wanted was to fix a minor problem with her cell phone bill. Instead she was sucked into a vortex of unimaginable horror. Now she wants revenge—or to get her cell phone service turned back on. Part thriller, part screwball comedy, part inspired by events that have undoubtedly happened to YOU."

In a world dominated by omnipresent corporations (or, here in the USA, omnipresent "persons"), nearly everyone has a bad "customer service" experience. Actor/playwright Lisa Kron, however, has turned hers into a 70-minute piece of highly entertaining Brechtian agitprop that sharply satirizes the corrupting influence of corporate power and the ease with which corporate media distract us from that influence with a steady stream of celebrity trivia. Noted theatre composer Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Caroline, or Change) provides the effective incidental music and a rousing anti-corporate anthem for an audience sing-along at the end.

Playwright Kron has the star turn as the beleaguered Jenni. Hannah Bos does a great quick-change routine as Ingrid and Cydney and Carolyn Baeumler is a wonderfully duplicitous Anissa. Others in the fine cast are: Joel Van Liew, Kimberly Hébert-Gregory, Ching Valdes-Aran, Clayton Dean Smith, Calvin Smith, Sabrina Contini, and Chris Reid.

There’s an international chase scene near the end that is, perhaps, a bit drawn out (although I appreciate its relevance as a commentary on the world-wide reach of the corporatocracy), but otherwise The Veri**on Play is a neat piece of satire that deserves additional productions.

Join in the discussion on Twitter with the #hf36 or #humanafest hash tags and follow me @clavazzi. Look for Joan Lipkin's reviews at The Vital Voice.

Humana Festival 2012: Death Tax

[Originally posted to the 88.1 KDHX blog]

Death Tax by Lucas Hnath
Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll
Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville
Through April 1, 2012

My live video blog with Joan Lipkin of The Vital Voice

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The synopsis: "Maxine is rich. Maxine is dying. Maxine thinks Nurse Tina is trying to kill her. When the patient confronts her caretaker, her accusations have unforeseen—and irrevocable—consequences, in this tightly-wound thriller about money, power and the value of a human life."

Like many of the plays we saw at the Humana Festival, Death Tax could stand a bit of trimming, but even in its current form it has a dramatic power that can't be denied, demonstrating forcibly the corrupting effects of money and power—and, for that matter, of want and powerlessness. It also raises disturbing questions: as medical science advances, will we become a race divided between those who can purchase virtual immortality and those who can't? And what will that mean? Death Tax suggests the answers might not be pleasant.

Death Tax unfolds mostly as a series of monologues with a few duet scenes, and provides one of the great monstrous characters of the stage in the character of Maxine. She ruthlessly manipulates everyone around her: Nurse Tina (who is not, in fact, trying to kill her), Tina's boss Todd, Maxine's daughter, and even, in a chilling final scene, a social worker and Maxine's grandson. She uses money and later guilt as weapons to prolong her life, destroying many others in the process. Like Sunset Boulevard, this is an American horror story without the supernatural.

The cast is tremendous. Judith Roberts is a nearly demonic figure as she rages, cajoles, wheedles and generally screws over everyone around her. Quincy Tyler Bernstine carries off the very different roles of Nurse Tina and the social worker with great skill, as does T. J. Kenneally as Todd and the grandson. Danielle Skraastad has only one major scene as the daughter, but she makes it her own.

As is the case with many Humana Festival shows, Death Tax has relatively modest technical demands, so it should be well within the reach of not only regional companies but smaller theatres as well. It has political and moral implications that deserve attention.

Join in the discussion on Twitter with the #hf36 hash tag and follow me @clavazzi. Look for Joan Lipkin's reviews at The Vital Voice.

Humana Festival 2012: Eat Your Heart Out

[Originally posted to the 88.1 KDHX blog]

Eat Your Heart Out by Courtney Baron
Directed by Adam Greenfield
Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville
Through April 1, 2012

My live video blog with Joan Lipkin

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The synopsis: Alice and Gabe are desperate to adopt a child. Nance, a single mom just starting to date, struggles to connect with her teenage daughter Evie. And Evie wishes her best friend Colin could fall for her rather than just trying to fix things. With both humor and aching insight, these lives are woven together in a tale of parental hopes and fears, and of hearts consumed by longing."

Courtney Baron's Eat Your Heart Out starts as a fast-paced and somewhat superficial comedy but eventually turns into something much more serious and even tragic. It's a show that begins with a series of declarations but ends with a question. Adam Greenfield's direction is crisp and brisk—perhaps a bit too much so, resulting an a rapid-fire exchange of dialog that might be more appropriate for video than live theatre. Still, it's a play and a production that provided much fodder for discussion in the bar afterwards and ultimately deals with very real issues of pain, rejection, and the difficulty of real-world love, even if it does sometimes feel more like the unfinished first act of a more substantial work.

Any reservations about the script do not, however, extend to the performers, all of whom were fine. Kate Eastwood Norris is all edgy energy as Nance and while Alex Moggridge's Tom was a bit bland, that appears to be exactly what the script calls for. Sarah Grodsky showed a heartbreaking vulnerability as Evie. Jordan Brodess brought out all the pain and flip attitude of Colin. Kate Arrington and Mike DiSalvo was a great team as the increasingly desperate Alice and Gabe, whom Nance treats with far less sympathy than they seem to deserve.

Upon reflection, I'm not sure that Eat Your Heart Out is quite ready for prime time yet. As it stands, the characters aren't as fully realized as they could be and something really needs to be done with that ending. Still, it shows promise, and that's part of what Humana is about.

Join in the discussion on Twitter with the #hf36 hash tag and follow me @clavazzi. Look for Joan Lipkin's reviews at The Vital Voice.