Rafael Goldstein and Joel de la Fuente (Photo by Robert Huskey)
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
South Coast Repertory
Through May 3
RECOMMENDED
Yes, the Earth is dying but it may take a few billion more years for its eventual demise. Greg Murphy (Joel de la Fuente), though, is not so lucky. Recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, the mild-mannered Greg is resigned to his fate, choosing to spend what quality time he has left with his loving spouse Viv (Alysia Reiner) and alienated trans fem child M (River Gallo). Still, boosted by medication-infused hallucinations and nature documentaries, Greg is convinced that his salvaging the planet from climate change will save him — and his family’s — fragile world.
Playwright Keiko Green’s dramedy is an inventive and head-tripping odyssey into environmental collapse, family trauma, and impending death. While the show may miss its mark in a few spots, director Zi Alikhan’s novel staging and the high-quality production values compensate for any minor drawbacks. Green’s deft balance of comedy and drama also makes for some robust storytelling with an ensemble mostly up to the job.
Backdropped by celestial projections from designer Nicholas Hussong, the piece opens with M as our narrator, offering an insightful homage to The Big Bang while adorned in a flamboyant spangled costume and headdress from designer Lux Haac. M also carries a model of the family’s house which is displayed at crucial points in the play
After a funny scene depicting Viv’s frustration with Greg’s doctor (Sharon Omi), we move to the Murphy home, where the astonishingly boisterous couple tells their bewildered child of Greg’s plight. M then describes outlandish and touching episodes as Greg’s condition declines. Bowing to their parents wish to bring the family closer together, M reluctantly invites their “new” boyfriend Will (Rafael Goldstein) to dinner. The well-meaning Will admonishes the Murphys for their recycling efforts, expounding on how individual recycling is a propaganda scheme implemented by corporate polluters who will spare no expense to stifle environmental regulations.
During drug-induced dreams, Greg receives quirky visions from climate activist Greta Thunberg (Anna LaMadrid), with the endearing parka-sporting Swede imparting disturbing data about the Earth’s dire condition. Greg is also visited by a frenzied life-sized green plastic soldier (Goldstein) who advises him of the military’s massive contribution to pollution. Galvanized by the info, Greg becomes a fanatical climate justice warrior, declaring at one point, “I am, or think I am, the Earth.” Rather than bonding to M and Viv, however, Greg’s eccentric efforts to save the Earth drive a bigger wedge among them all.
De la Fuente is sympathetic as Greg, whose authentic efforts to connect with M are both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. As M, Gallo can be underwhelming but shines in a tender scene in Greg’s hospital room and as a feisty drag diva. Reiner’s Viv displays care and contempt for Greg and his unexpected condition, notably in a grief group therapy session scene and in a tense confrontation between them. Omi makes a fine foil for Reiner’s Viv as a fellow therapy group member, while both Omi and Riener are hoots as other bizarre figments in Greg’s addled imagination. LaMadrid has a fun time as Thunberg and as Viv’s eccentric New Age sister, who burns sage and goes around gong in hand (though Green’s choice to have her and Goldstein break the fourth wall for some audience participation seemed unneeded).
As Greg’s mind and body – and the Earth – deteriorate, so does scenic designer Adam Rigg’s expansive and meticulous rendering of the Murphy home which is pulled apart bit by bit by industrious stagehands. By the finale only M’s model house from the play’s opening sitting is visible on a bare stage, with Green perhaps bringing us full circle with the message that death can also bring regeneration.
South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa; Wed.-Thurs., 7:30 pm, Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat., 2:30 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru May 3. www.scr.org Running time: one hour and 40 minutes.
