Apparently Lauren Gunderson, the author of Natural Shocks, was the most produced playwright in the United States last year. While that designation excludes perennial favorite William Shakespeare, it is nonetheless a major accomplishment. WP Theater, a company focused on presenting works by female artists, seemed a logical choice for this world premiere production. This tedious play does nothing to help me fathom Ms. Gunderson’s success.
Pascale Armand (a Tony nominee for Eclipsed) portrays Amanda, a woman trapped in her basement as a storm is approaching. The whole play is a monologue to the audience about the impending tornado and her feelings on many, many hot button issues. Who are we, the audience, and why are we listening? That oddity is cleared up in the last ten minutes or so but by then this play has jumped down so many rabbit holes that regrouping is not a reasonable expectation. Ms. Gunderson bludgeons this play with themes which are either subtle throwaways or bolded banner headlines.
At one point, Amanda reaches into a storage box labeled books. She pulls out Sense and Sensibility which she says she is currently rereading. Why is it in a box in the basement? That book is never referred to again but the feminist foreshadowing continues to pile on. The large theme here is that men are very, very bad people. Her father left her mom. Her husband is not the man she thought he was. She’s very analytical – an actuary! – so her analysis is calculated and measured. Amanda is trying to be happy and forcefully (and sarcastically) sings “C’mon Get Happy” repeatedly, ominously warning that she needs to be ready for the judgment day.
With excitement, Amanda realizes there is alcohol in the basement. She opens the bottle, swigs and soon thereafter puts it down, never to be touched or mentioned again. Rabbit holes show up everywhere as if every calamity and self-preservation tactic facing a woman in danger must be checked off. Ms. Armand tries to make this amateurish storytelling vaguely interesting but she cannot hold our attention, nor quite remember all her lines (though it is a long, often awkward monologue).
The ending of this play is perhaps the reason this vehicle was selected as part of WP’s season. Even that section, however, strained all credibility despite being well-intentioned. If the danger had passed over the house, as we are told, why stay in the basement? The dialogue often made me cringe. Here is a playwright who knew she wanted a powerful, topically relevant ending but was incapable of building a story or a character in which we believably could follow. Or care. Natural Shocks is a complete misfire.