Science is a topic in today’s world with wildly divergent views on what is fact and what is fiction. The threat of personal danger during the current – and escalating – COVID pandemic is omnipresent in the news each and every day. Edward Einhorn’s Alma Baya asks us to consider personal risks in a credible science fictional scenario.
An invitingly simple and effective set design by Mike Mroch immediate places the action in the future. Two women live inside a pod. Their names are Alma and Baya. Whether or not the “machine” is working opens this play. A horn sounds signaling lunchtime. The ladies reach in for their rations. A discussion implies a fear of limited supplies of food and water.
Who are Alma and Baya? What are they doing in this pod? Where exactly are they? And why? Answers to those initial questions come later in Mr. Einhorn’s one act play. Before that, however, a crisis ensues.
A Stranger appears outside the pod. The shadow suggest it may be human. A knock follows. Should they let in this unknown entity? The dilemma is immediately clear. The spacesuits worn outside only last a few hours. Left outside this person will die. Brought inside, on the other hand, brings an unknown entity into a two person living space. Supplies are limited and “the crops are gone.”
Alma and Baya have very different viewpoints on the correct way forward. Protectionism versus compassion. While unspoken, Alma is a pseudonym for alpha. Baya, the softer hearted one, is the beta of this pair. The quandary goes even further. Alma and Baya’s spacesuits are no longer functional. This stranger may be able to help with the crops. Dwindling supplies versus unknown risk. (The science of virus vaccination versus conspiracy theories of microchip insemination a reasonable current parallel.)
The set up of this play is tight, realistic and clear. The predicament is not necessarily unique in science fiction but the current pandemic lends an air of caution which makes the timing of this play prescient. Who is this Stranger and what dangers do they pose? Who is this Stranger and what benefits can they bring?
Since this is a three character play, those uncertainties will be explored in a fairly expected way. The premise of who, what, where and why these ladies are in this pod, however, is a very satisfying science fiction conceit.
Alma Baya is nicely directed by the author. Frederico Restrepo and Hao Bai’s lighting design adds the appropriate mystery and menace to the proceedings. Two different casts are featured during this play’s run. JaneAnne Halter, Maggie Cino and Nina Mann were all good with Ms. Halter’s Baya perhaps the centrifugal force which evolves the story line most significantly.
Mr. Einhorn’s plot ideas are the most enjoyable aspect of this piece especially for fans of moral conflicts in science fiction. There are enough unknowns to allow the audience to fill in the background or imagine what happens thereafter. Like an effective short story, Alma Baya satisfies yet leaves room for expansion of what’s outside this particularly troublesome pod.
Alma Baya will be performed live at A.R.T./New York through August 28, 2021. A live stream taping will be also be available online from August 18 through September 19th.