Arianna Evangelia, Lillie Silva-Muir (Photo courtesy Theatre of NOTE)
Reviewed by Madison Mellon
Theatre of NOTE
Thru April 7
The Allstore, currently receiving its world premiere at Theatre of NOTE, is a topical play about workplace exploitation and the inherent cruelty of late-stage capitalism. As the audience walks in, we are greeted with sterile shelves lined with indistinguishable products, and a coldly corporate logo emblazoned on the back wall. This is a promising setup, and instantly recognizable to anyone who has experienced the drudgery of retail work. Yet despite the potential of its premise, The Allstore struggles to fully address and explore the many themes it sets out to tackle.
The play follows Petra (Arianna Evangelia), a college student who works at a big-box store to make ends meet but who dreams of being a poet. She pines after her co-worker, aspiring cage-fighter Andrea (Lillie Silva-Muir). As the conditions at the store become increasingly untenable, due to abusive management, Petra attempts to lead her co-workers in a fateful revolt.
Where playwright Evan Marshall falls short is in trying to fit so many topical issues into a one act play, so much so that none of them are given room to breathe. Within the first half hour, the story attempts to address workplace sexual harassment, police brutality, discrimination against the elderly, and homophobia, amongst other challenging topics. While all of these issues are more than deserving of discussion, they are presented in such rapid succession that the play begins to feel like a checklist of talking points. The story’s dark ending, while effective in its shock value, does not manage to fully coalesce all these topics into a satisfying thesis.
The cast are, overall, very capable. As Petra, Evangelia is compelling and sympathetic, and has a believable rapport with Silva-Muir’s Andrea. As Oliver, an aging worker at the store, Phil Ward brings genuine heart to some of the play’s most tragic scenes. However, under the direction of Maddie Brown, some of the performances feel too large for Theatre of NOTE’s intimate venue. The store’s antagonistic manager and his lackey from HR (Joseph Bricker and Julie Lanctot, respectively) are pitched at such a cartoonish level that it is difficult to see them as a real threat as the story progresses.
Despite these misgivings, this is a very competent production. Director Maddie Downes keeps the show moving at a clip, and the more absurd, comedic elements of the story land effectively. The scenic and graphic design, by Colin Lawrence and Claire Selinske respectively, are simple but polished. However, as a whole,The Allstore never quite lives up to its own noble ambitions.
Theatre of NOTE, 1517 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Opens Thurs., Feb. 29; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 6 pm, Mon., 8 pm, thru April 7. https://www.theatreofnote.com/ Running time one hour and 40 minute with no intermission.
