Midnight Screening
Reviewed by Julia Lloyd George
Write LA at the Zephyr Theatre
Through April 30
RECOMMENDED
Midnight Screening is, quite simply, a play about a meet-cute in a movie theater. It’s the kind of straightforward, appealing premise that isn’t as common as it used to be. Original rom-coms, whether they’re on screen or on stage, seem to be in rather short supply these days, supplanted by fantasy worlds and established IP. For that reason, watching two people fall in love without any frills attached has become surprisingly refreshing and writer/director Tim Schildberger’s take on the genre is spiked with nostalgic sweetness.
That retro atmosphere begins with its throwback setting, a near-empty movie theater that somehow still has a film projector in what appears to be the present day. It’s also run single-handedly by a cranky old woman, Doris (Denise Moses), with serious memory issues, an ancient popcorn machine, and a strong fear of communists. The only two people who have showed up to the midnight screening of The Sure Thing are a young woman named River (Mouzam Makkar) and a young guy called Henry (Ari Frenkel). They don’t meet until the film stops working and they emerge back into the lobby, only to discover that Doris has left the theater and absentmindedly locked them in.
Thus begins a bizarre night of wandering around the various nooks of the theater and talking through their emotional baggage. Though Henry initially suggests that they call the police to get them out, River refuses and seems content to wait all night for Doris. Henry also gives up quite quickly, apparently happy to be locked in with a cute girl. Though their relaxed attitude to the situation stretches credulity as the hours pass (aren’t they tired?) and they get sick of each other at various points, it’s worth suspending your disbelief a bit to watch River banter and flirtatiously tease Henry for his nerdy formality.
The less successful scenes involve the points of conflict, which revolve around their respective approaches to their significant others and past trauma. Despite being total strangers, they seem entirely comfortable calling each other out on their bullshit and doing a bit of yelling in the process. Though there’s one moving scene related to River’s past relationship and Mouzam Makkar does a remarkable job, there are a lot of contradictions in her character and it’s not entirely clear what motivates her.
River and Henry also don’t seem to have a ton of chemistry or that much in common beyond their experiences with grief and relationship troubles; their passions, their dreams and their hopes for the future do not really come up. In contrast with Annie Baker’s The Flick, which is also set in a movie theater and features a degree of young romance, films are barely a topic of conversation. The setting then feels somewhat irrelevant, as if the story could be in any other contained location with nostalgic value.
Despite its flaws, however, Midnight Screening is certainly a charming play that had me rooting for an unlikely couple to work through their issues and find their way to each other in strange circumstances. That’s a classic storyline for a reason.
Write LA at the The Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood; Fri-Sat 8pm, Sun. 3pm through April 30th; https://www.write-la.com/midnightscreening; Run time: 90 minutes, no intermission
