Damien Midkiff and Michael Muniz Vodde (Photo by Sue Connor Paradise)
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Madnani theatre
Through October 11
Damien Midkiff and Michael Muniz Vodde (Photo by Sue Connor Paradise)
As the world thrashes piecemeal towards a future where Artificial Intelligence will perhaps reign supreme, Caryl Churchill’s 2002 one-act drama, directed by James Paradise, recalls similar alarms raised decades before about the perils of human cloning.
The script unfolds in five scenes and takes place within the span of four months. As the play opens, we meet Salter (Michael Muniz Vodde), a frail man in his sixties at home with his son Bernard (Damien Midkiff, known as B2, who plays the roles of all three sons). We learn that years ago, Salter lost a son and that he had him cloned to have a “second chance at parenting”— at least that is what he tells B2.
Unfortunately, the doctor had cloned multiple copies (nineteen!), and Salter is now faced with the consequences of this years later.
B2 is congenial and likable, and he is understandably unsettled when his father tells him that he has a twin. The scene becomes heated when he’s told exactly how and why.
We next meet B1, an individual redolent of a soccer hooligan. He is visiting his father for the first time since his childhood and is bitter and angry because Salter sent him away when he was young. Several times he appears ready to assault him. Salter, who is a drunk and burdened by guilt, assuages the hostility with lies and evasions.
Salter is again alone with B2 in the third scene, as B2 attempts to understand himself and his father’s motivation, and informs Salter that he has met his brother in a park.
The unraveling comes in the fourth scene, where B1 tells his father that he has killed his brother. Salter is grief-stricken about this, but we subsequently learn that it does not end well for B1 either.
The last scene finds Salter visiting with his son Michael Black, who is an easy-going teacher and is married with three kids. Their dialogue, however, does not reveal much about Michael’s feelings about being a “copy,” and Salter’s response to him is surprisingly tepid.
All this becomes painfully confusing early on, and it grows more so as the play progresses. There are way too many “holes” in Churchill’s script, and that makes sitting through this short play extremely challenging. We learn little of substance about Salter, who at play’s end is as much of an enigma as when we first meet him. Vodde’s performance is off-and on, but Midkiff is quite convincing in his multiple roles.
Madnani Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave, Hollywood. Fri.-Sat. 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru Oct. 11. http://events@thestagecrafts.com/15047 Runtime: 70 minutes.
