Julianna Robinson, Brendan Broms, Anthony DeCarlo and Alina Phelan (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
Theatre of NOTE
Through September 7
RECOMMENDED
The title of Carlos Lacámara’s absorbing play alludes to the 1960s counterculture motto calling for folks to “tune in, turn on, drop out.” Or perhaps it refers to the painful childhood memories beaming into the subconscious of a troubled female professor beset by academic politics, heteropatriarchy, and mental health issues. Set in a fictional university in 1963, Lacámara’s often-amusing work also epitomizes a maxim familiar to many academics — one which has to do with why fights among them are so vicious.
The untimely demise of the psychology department’s chair at the aptly named Hobbes University jeopardizes the research and career path of Samantha “Sam” Albert (Julianna Robinson), a young and ambitious psychopharmacologist. Even before her colleague’s death, Sam’s obsessive studies on the curative effects of LSD on mental illnesses were controversial and questioned by her colleagues. Now, with her backstabbing colleagues jockeying for the chair’s slot, and with rumors of embezzled research grants and impending budget cuts, Sam looks for support in increasingly desperate ways.
Compounding Sam’s angst over her future are the intermittent visions invading the psyche of her problematic mother Lily (Scout Gutzmerson) — which could explain Sam’s tenacious commitment to her research. She enlists the aid of Karl Melnitz (Carl J. Johnson), a reclusive yet influential older professor with a penchant for TV soap operas (live actors portray the outrageous plotlines of Melnitz’s favorite shows) and in doing so finds a reluctant ally, in addition to her own shrink. The department’s secretary Cora (Alina Phelan), without whose work the department would implode, also pitches in as she and Sam commiserate over machismo in academe. At the same time, an ethically questionable action by Sam’s teaching assistant Philip (Evan Marshall) could ruin her work as well as her mind.
Under Dana Schwartz’s adroit direction, the actors wear their roles like gloves. Brendan Broms as the awkward behaviorist Bob and Anthony DeCarlo as the insufferable Freudian Henry are a hoot in their increasingly juvenile tussle for the chair position. A Jungian married to Cora, Ron Morehouse is spot-on as the conventional Dan, whose buttoned-down façade may conceal more than he lets on.
Johnson’s weary yet impish Melnitz serves as the perfect foil for Robinson’s cynical Sam, with both skillfully balancing comedy and drama as they dig into Sam’s disturbing past. Gutzmerson’s haunting turn as the flighty Lily reveals a mother who alternately complimented and insulted Sam as a child and instilled in her daughter the need to distrust everyone – especially men. Robinson turns in a convincing performance as Sam, a woman whose pursuit of success is impaired by a traumatic upbringing — yet still does her best to reject her mother’s admonitions and embrace her praise instead.
Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm, Mon., 8 pm; thru Sept. 7. https://theatreofnote.com. Running time 90 minutes with no intermission.
