The first time actor Jonathan
Kowalski takes stage as the mad scientist Seth Robbins
and announces that he intends to Kill the President, he
has a certain look in his eye. Subdued mirth, perhaps,
mischevious and blended with anticipation: will this be
the night some Secret Service robocop with one
functioning neuron burst in and shut down the play? Will
this be the night it all goes haywire?
Once over
the hurdle of those three dangerous words, Kowalski
regains his actor's composure, and the show goes on. But
a kernel of chaos, like the gleam in Kowalski's eye,
waits inside this bright-pink-candy-coated apocalyptic
comedy.
KtP, produced by Stages 5150
theater company for The UnConvention, a festival of
political, activist, and subversive theater playing
opposite the Republican National Convention, is a farce
for people with spleen to vent about America's toxic
government. It also explores its audience's
preconceptions about violence and vengeance. But the
reason to see the play is that it is very funny.
The story, is that Robbins, the scientist,
discovers that his latest invention, which he thought
was a food processor, is going to be used by the
government as a weapon of mass destruction, and decides
to turn the tables by using the weapon on the President
and his cabinet. To do so, he teams up with a gambler
who can predict the future and a suicidal stewardess,
and hijinks ensue.
The thing that makes
KtP work is that, as political as it is, it does
not try to be a tract. It uses its madcap premise not to
criticize the government per se, but to explore
the feelings and reactions of people trapped in a
violent system run by murderers and psychopaths. There
are a few moments when characters do burst into full-on
rants inspired by current events, and they are not the
show's best, but the actors turn on a dime so quickly
that the low points are easily forgotten.
There
is no set, but props, sound effects, and lightning
costume changes are used quite effectively, creating a
style of performance something akin to really good
sketch comedy. Playwright Randy Anderson gifts his zany
characters with bizzarely funny and introspective
wordplay, reminiscent of Jane Martin. Director Benajmin
J. Branson stirs in a shot of screwball farce, and whips
up a frothy, chaotic delicacy.
All the actors
are appealing and full of comic flair, but an excess of
praise goes to the supporting cast. Katie Tuminelli, Rob
Grace, and Fletcher Liegerort do all the quick change
work, and between them create a whole legion of
wonderful weirdos. They switch roles with a facility
that sometimes makes it hard to believe there are only
three of them.
KtP also boasts one of the
few really clever bits of audience participation I've
encountered: audience members take a short survey when
they come in, which asks questions primarily about their
attitudes toward violence. The survey results affect how
the play's gruesome final confrontation turns out,
leaving the "voters" to wonder how things might have
ended if they had responded differently.
Chaos
is one of KtP's themes, and also a major part of
its appeal. No one ever seems quite sure what will
happen next, or how it will really work out. Some scenes
fall flat, others are so funny they may cause internal
bleeding. The weakest links, unfortunately, are the
play's most climactic scenes, which feel a bit rushed,
as if no one is quite sure what to do when things turn
serious.
Still, in all, what a relief to see a
political play that manages to be more wonderful than
dire, and as funny as it is thought-provoking.
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Abingdon
Theater Mainstage |
Category:
Comedy
Written by: Randy
Anderson
Directed by: Benjamin
Branson
Produced by: STAGES 5150
Opens: August
25
Closes: September 11
Running
Time: 1 hr 45
minutes
Theater: Abingdon Theater
Mainstage
Address: 312 West 36th Street,
First Floor
New York, NY 10018
Mapquest Directions
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Tickets:
$12.00
Discounted passes are available for all six
mainstage productions of The UnConvention. Please see
www.theatermania.com for details.
Phone:
(212) 352-0255
Online Ticketing: Theatermania
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Creative TeamWritten
by: Randy Anderson
Directed
by: Benjamin J. Branson
Produced
by: Stages 5150 Inc.
Sound
Designer: Paul Falcone
Assistant
Director: Stephanie Farnell-Wilson
CastJonathan Kowalski as Seth
Robbins
Daniel Roach as Terrance Mountebank
Kristi
Funk as Alicia Dire
Katie Tuminelly as Bag Lady,
Barbie, Stewardess, Mother, Boatsman,
Mechanic
Fletcher Liegerot as Dirty Bastard, Cynthia,
Lawyer
Rob Grace (*) as President, Lackey,
Dickey
(*) Appears Courtesy Actors Equity
Association
CrewLight Board
Operator: Sharon
Balmer
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