Category: Commentary

A warning before the play begins.  God of Obsidian is about a “psychologically abusive gaslighting relationship.”  What follows is a dark descent into one woman’s slow but steady freefall.

Alice and Nathan are walking to his home.  They discuss “old gnarled Brothers’ Grimm” fairy tales.  When crossing the “rickety bridge” Alice mentions that “there has to be a troll, right?”  This is her first visit to Nathan’s house in the obvious early stages of a new relationship.

Inside there is a trunk which cannot be opened.  The foreboding imagery is not subtle nor is the dialogue.  A comment about “grinding the axe” results in an eye-rolling response:  “you can grind on me all you want.”  The playful banter continues but will soon change course.  Nathan, in addition to being a tad goofy, is a shrewd control freak.

Cutting off ties to Alice’s friends and coworkers begins the slow roll down the hill.  A series of mental torments are designed to strip away Alice’s readily apparent confidence.  Nathan does seem to care for her.  Caring and owning, however, are not the same thing for most people as is in evidence here.

Nathan’s gift of gab reveals itself to be truly disturbing.  Over three chapters which span a few years, the mind games intensify.  The verbal manipulation from Nathan’s personal viewpoints repulsively draw the listener in.  What makes God of Obsidian particularly interesting is the natural believability of the situational spinning.  Words and thoughts and even facts are turned upside down and inside out.  The warning given is justified.

Mac Rogers’ play centers its energy on emotional distress and does not involve physical threats at all.  Mr. Rogers also performs the role of Nathan and his slime factor is very, very high.  The word twisting manipulations are extraordinary.  As Alice, Rebecca Comtois is equally effective balancing a disappearing strength of character with nervous self-awareness.  This audio play is definitely a character study in gaslighting featuring two excellent performances.

The ending seemed metaphorically heavy handed as did some of the set up.  Running at just over one hour in total, God of Obsidian delivers many riveting scenes with crisply dramatic dialogue.  Director Jordana Williams has layered this tale with realism which is why the story and the characters get under your skin.  That is the intended effect and why this production is worth a listen.

The first part of God of Obsidian premieres August 27, 2021.  The second and third parts will air over the following two weeks.  This audio play is available free on demand across all major podcast platforms and the Gideon Media website.

www.gideon-media.com

The never ending pandemic aroused many emotions in each of us.  Those feelings also manifested themselves in bizarre, often erratic and mind-numbingly imbecilic behaviors.  A prime example is that lunatic screaming hysterically in a supermarket while throwing groceries out of her cart.  She did give us a laugh.  She also made us cringe.  Peter Gray’s new comedy The Karens will bring those hopefully suppressed memories back.

For those who missed 2020, a Karen is a noun in addition to a name.  The term is pejorative “for a woman seeming to be entitled or uncompromising beyond the scope of what is normal.”  At the play’s beginning a helpful clue reminds us that she is “frequently sporting a ‘speak to the manager’ haircut.”  The comedic possibilities are endless.

Mr. Gray introduces three Karens in his story.  They are indeed suffering and insufferable.  But they are not the middle aged white privilege variety we’ve come to gawk at like feces eating primates at the zoo.  These Karens are younger and each bears the burden of carrying the dreaded moniker.  Imagine the horror of having that name and its heavy burden today.

These three high school chums get together on zoom to catch up during the summer of 2020.  They proudly boast “we’re the Karens.”  They lament the good old days when being a Karen meant style, sophistication and a certain joie de vivre.  Then comes the punch line.  Being a perfect Karen also meant not admitting to not knowing what “joie de vivre” means.  Listen hard as there are dozens and dozens of zingers to be found.

X, Y and Z are the distinguishing markers for this trio.  Karen X is black and describes herself as a “critically acknowledged life coach” and aspiring social media influencer.  The Latina Karen Y is the CEO of “Party Girl Karen LLC.”  Karen Z, the white one, now wants to be called Karen Zed.  She is a yoga instructor.  Each is branding and rebranding themselves.  If there were hash tags when they were in high school, “it would have given my life purpose.”

The structure of Mr. Gray’s comedy swings from zoom meetings to social media posts particularly from Karen’s X and Z.  Using their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talents (and a pussy hat from the women’s march), they unite to “dismantle white supremacy.”  Why?  “So all the little girls who don’t know they could be like us could be like us.”

That these three are racially diverse adds to the fun but also gives them pause.  Maybe they should add a Middle Eastern Karen to their group so they can “eat falafel without guilt.”  The juiciest part of this satire is using the concept of the older Karens to put a harsh spotlight on the next generation of Karens in full obnoxious development.  How many hash tags do you need to be perfectly woke?

Many life lessons are shared.  Karen Zed gives tips on one of her videos.  First on the list is fighting the urge to speak to a manager.  Her advice is to go lower on the totem pole and make that person’s day.  In her second tip, she tells us to avoid using the term totem pole.  Racial adjacencies are frowned upon.  When The Karens is at its best, the dialogue is an eye-rolling, smart-alecky treat.

When things get serious in the last third, however, the fun diminishes somewhat.  The game night plot diversion forces Karen Y to abruptly change her personality which does not really gel.  An intervention does help these “washed up shallow influencers.”  One of them realizes “if I just opened up a little I could be the face of the well-intentioned incompetent.”

As the three Karens, Morgan Danielle Day (X), Felicia Santiago (Y) and LaurenSage Browning (Z) all have great moments to shine.  Director and Editor Michael Alvarez appropriately lays the satire on thickly.  The videos are a hoot, especially Karen X’s nature walk and Whole Foods parking lot excursions.  When she reveals that she “wants to be that bad ass bitch on her Instagram bio,” the new generation of insufferable Karens are laid bare for all to see.

Karen Zed might win the award for most laughs as she is written and played with dim-witted brilliance.  Peter Gray’s The Karens is entertaining even if it, like an aggrieved Karen in aisle 12, hangs around too long with diminishing pleasures.  I suggest grabbing an “anti-racist cocktail” and savoring the abundant witticisms.  Copenhagen, after all, is a “backwater place with universal health care.”

The Karens is presented by The Muse Collective.  The show is virtually streaming August 13 – 27, 2021.

www.the-muse-collective.com

In person theater is returning to our world.  Finally but slowly.  Even Broadway is starting up again with many openings scheduled in September.  The coronavirus variants be damned (or so we hope)!  In the meantime, there is still plenty to enjoy via streaming or podcast.  I recently checked out Replacement Player and The Christensen Brothers from Open-Door Playhouse.

Founder Bernadette Armstrong created this podcast to allow playwrights without agents to get produced.  The “open door” of their brand.  Both of the productions I saw were recorded in Glendale, California.  Each lasted about ten minutes.  The short duration of many of these pieces should be an incentive to jump in the water for a quick swim.

Replacement Player is part of their Prison Play Series.  This comedy was written by Scott P. Siebert of the Marion Correctional Institution in Ohio (and adapted by Daniel Lambert).   A performance at a small community theater is threatened when one of the actors quit.  The role of Bill is a “secondary” one but important nonetheless in a two character show.

Dan (André Sogliuzzo) is the exasperated and self-important lead.  He opens by asking the audience a question.  “Does anyone out there want to be a star… or star adjacent?”  The line which follows:  “what does adjacent mean?”  The laughs are low key and effective.  A man named Rick (Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha) volunteers and joins Dan on the stage.  Let’s simply say that the replacement player idea does not go as smoothly as hoped.

A surprise twist  is delightful and the two member cast – and the listeners – will will find out whether “hopefully it ends better than it started.”  The second podcast was written by Michael J. Moore.  The Christensen Brothers also offers a twist to savor.  Two brothers (Matthew Scott Montgomery and Blake Krist) are in a car changing radio channels while bantering back and forth.  It has been a long day of driving.

The road contains trees, fields, cows… and is “kinda creepy.”  A man (Daamen Krall) appears on the side of the road.  Should the brothers stop? This person wants to be left alone despite being outside in the middle of the night.  Why?  You will have to listen and discover that for yourself.  The payoff is haunting and flows nicely from the set up.

Both of these plays are well structured and will definitely be appreciated by fans of short stories.  Sometimes brevity is welcome especially when the appetizer sized portion is this tasty.  Here are two examples where a writer has completed his story arc in under ten minutes.  I listened to a longer recording earlier this year called The Canterville Ghost.  These podcasts can surely be enjoyed during destination travel alone or with others.

All of the performances and the production quality are uniformly very good.  The storytelling quickly sets the mood.  Open-Door Playhouse productions are free.  Donations are encouraged.  Have ten or twenty minutes to spare on the way to work or travelling on vacation?  You, like Rick, can be a voluntary participant during one of those overly long driving days.

There are now three dozen Open-Door Playhouse productions which can be listened to on their website or via your preferred podcast provider.

www.opendoorplayhouse.org

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/thecantervilleghost

Towards the end of Grasses of a Thousand Colors, we hear that “unusual behavior is observed by those without unusual behavior.”  Consider yourself the latter when listening to this audio taped version of Wallace Shawn’s play.  Originally staged in 2013 at New York’s Public Theater, the original cast has been reassembled to once again bust the boundaries of morality, decency and psychological surrealism.

The center of this particular world is Ben, a narcissistic egomaniac whose best and only true friend is in his pants.  In fact, that relationship is a love affair that hardly has time for anyone else.  Ben happens to be the inventor of Grain #1 which solved for plant food shortages caused by the exploding animal population.  He is now wealthy and checks are pouring in.  He gloats “no one who hasn’t made money can imagine how great it is.”

Naturally there are side effects to this world-changing dynamic.  Animals start to be able to consume each other reducing the demands on the declining plant situation.  But there are more side effects to be discussed.  Pigs, for example, now have sex “fifteen or sixteen times every day.”  Fans of absurdist humor will find dozens of nuggets to savor.

Ben is married to Cerise (Julie Hagerty).  His mistress is Robin (Jennifer Tilly).  A later girlfriend is named Rose (Emily Cass McDonnell).  This wannabe – and arguably successful – playboy even has a cat named Blanche with whom intimacies are considered.  This play is nominally a story about an apocalyptic world turned upside down.  Instead, this slightly creepy and intensely detailed fairy tale is an unforgettably written diatribe about privileged men and their all-consuming sense of self.  If you have ever wanted to listen in on the thoughts of an unlikely and unctuous Casanova, this is the play for you.

Fair warnings are necessary.  This memoir is filled with both minor and major forays into sexual situations and commentary which are simultaneously hilarious and repulsive.  Some will undoubtedly be offended.  Once you settle into Mr. Shawn’s world and words (he plays Ben and is nearly perfect), the fascination of his boundary busting themes come into sharp relief.

All of the female characters and the actresses playing them are astonishingly memorable.  What’s in the minds of these ladies who choose to spend time with this revolting man?  “On those pointless evenings, I would stare at his member,” one says before remarking that there were “no answers in there.”

Grasses of a Thousand Colors is written with many monologues.  As a result, the audio play format works beautifully with the material.  Fans of Ms. Hagerty and Ms. Tilly will easily imagine their faces as they perform two very different and delightfully quirky characters.  I’ve listened to a bunch of audio plays and performances over the past year or so.  This one is top drawer.

Once again, if you can get past the R and X (and XXX) rated dialogue, this is a challenging and disturbing work worth a listen.  The three hour play is segmented into six half hour sections.  Did I mention violence?  Oh, there’s that too.  To be fair, the sputtering ending was anticlimactic.  Then again, how do you top what came before?  I can probably guarantee the scenes with Blanche alone will haunt for weeks.

Since the 2013 production we have had the #metoo movement and a global pandemic.  White privilege is at the forefront of social conversation.  Mr. Shawn’s play predates our current period with a phantasmagorical stream of consciousness hitting all of these themes.  If you take this particular trip, at a minimum, you’ll get to experience “the coziness of waking up in a bed that’s not yours.”

Grasses of a Thousand Colors is available wherever you listen to podcasts as well as through Gideon Media’s website.  The photo is from the original Public Theater stage production.

www.gideon-media.com