After seeing her Pulitzer Prize winning play, The Flick, and then John, the ghost story of a play written for Georgia Engel, I signed right up for Annie Baker’s next in her Signature Theater residency entitled The Antipodes. From my seat, this play is not close to the heights achieved by those other works. However, The Antipodes is far from boring. The play takes place in a conference room of a company that aggressively flaunts its self-satisfied hipness by its founder and millionaire, Sandy (well played by Will Patton). The basic premise is that the assembled group will brainstorm stories in search of their next new idea.
And then brainstormed stories emerge. Some are interesting, some are not. The characters also ponder the number of stories in existence. In between, Sandy’s assistant (a perfect Nicole Rodenburg) comes in to take food orders. Everything proceeds along by a solid cast but the going is a bit long, like a meeting that seemingly won’t end because there is no real agenda. It’s one of those plays that makes me wonder whether I am smart enough to truly “get it.” That said, the conference room setting and feeling of being in a company meeting felt authentic to someone who has spent countless hours in such group dynamics. I would recommend The Antipodes for Annie Baker enthusiasts – as long as you remember that those conference room meetings can be a bit tedious at times.