Reviewed by Dana Martin
Laguna Playhouse
Through November 16th
In this modern era, everything and anything is a stressor, and anxiety is viewed as the enemy of peace. Beside Myself, a new play by Paul Slade Smith, is slapstick sci-fi that doesn’t quite go the distance. Outgoing artistic director David Ellenstein directs a clean production at a clipped pace, but Smith’s cartoonish farce ultimately falls flat.
Gemma (Erin Noel Grennan) is a nervous woman. Like, really nervous. She‘s on the verge of a nervous breakdown merely by existing. She’s an empathic therapist who embodies her patients’ fears and anxiety and she’s having difficulty coping with the residual anxiety. Rather than a crash course in vicarious trauma, she opts for the nuclear option: brain surgery — minimally invasive, according to the enigmatic, cult-like quack, Dr. Thatcher (Jacquelyn Ritz) and completely stress-eliminating. It’s sounds too good to be true and, of course, it is. Dr. Thatcher’s stalwart assistant Sylvie (Alanna J. Smith) has had the procedure herself and eases Gemma’s misgivings well enough — but lets a damming bit of information slip: the old personality is never quite erased. This gives Gemma pause but she proceeds with the procedure anyway, which results in a not-so-cute personality makeover: post-op Gemma is thoughtless, rude, and abrasive, but at least she’s confident. When that old anxious voice begins to bleed into her new persona, Gemma grapples with two opposing sides of her own personality and it’s character whiplash for everyone.
Beside Myself begins with intrigue and mystery but steadily devolves into broad predictability despite the cast’s best efforts to infuse the story with energy and the right degree of silliness. Act 1 is fast, funny, and clever, and sets the characters up for a second act that just never delivers. Act 2 is akin to a late night 70’s sci-fi rerun:cartoonish and outlandish. Ellenstein leans into an over-the-top style with clean staging, tight pacing and smart scenic transitions that keep the action moving, even as the storyline fizzles.
There’s plenty of physical comedy throughout and the ensemble rises to the occasion, embodying the playwright’s commentary on what a total lack of empathy looks like (psychotic). Each member of the ensemble plays multiple roles throughout and each proves himself or herself to be a solid character actors. Grennan and others shift frantically between personalities in a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde-like fashion, which is in and of itself anxiety producing. Grennan manages to hang onto the story’s throughline and reveal the character’s humanity in the midst of the chaos.
Marty Burnett’s set design is clever and well-appointed. The story takes place in multiple locations: waiting rooms, offices, operating rooms, living rooms, bedrooms — and Burnett doesn’t miss a beat. Furniture glides on and off the stage with ease and the set’s multitude of doors ready the stage for farce. Alina Bokovikova’s costumes add deliberate, much needed pops of color while Peter Herman’s hair and wig design adds whimsy to the already zany world. Matthew Novotny’s lighting conveys depth and drama and Aaron Rumley’s sound is just right.
Modern life is stressful and anxiety inducing. Alleviating that stress, even by surgical means, is certainly tempting, but in Smith’s universe, eliminating anxiety also means relieving the empathy which causes that stress. The result is big, broad, and just plain wacky.
Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Dr., Laguna Beach; Wed.-Sat., 7:30 pm, Thurs. and Sat., 2 pm, Sun. 1:30 pm, 6:30 pm, dark Sun., Nov. 16, 5: 30 pm; thru Nov. 16 https://lagunaplayhouse.com
