Andrew Simon and Rachel Retha Middleton (Photo by Anthony Meindl)
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
AMAW Studios
Through November 14
RECOMMENDED
Just in time for Halloween, playwright/director Anthony Meindl’s satiric and more modern take on Mary Shelley’s “Modern Prometheus” demonstrates the horrors our current industrial society can inflict on our psyches and the fragile planet we live on. Meindl uses inventive video projections, eccentric comic characters, and glib one-liners to move his sardonic tale along. While its many parts do not congeal into a steady whole, thus diminishing its core theme, the play nonetheless serves as a forceful call to pick up torches and pitchforks against global warming.
Welcome to present day Highland, Indiana, where Mr. M (Drew Simon) gets an invitation to his 35-year high school reunion. A talented actor as a teen who never fulfilled his potential as an adult, the bitter Mr. M cringes at the thought of attending the event and facing his more illustrious alumni. Sensitive and closeted as a teen, he peaked in high school when he portrayed Frankenstein’s monster in a play directed by his now estranged best friend Darlene (Taylar Holloman). While Darlene has fared better than Mr. M, working as a teacher at their former high school, he shames Darlene for still directing the same play year after year and blames her and other contemporaries for his lot in life.
When Mr. M does attend the reunion, a prank played by a pair of old bullies on the laboratory set of the Frankenstein play zaps Mr. M into a journey back in time. He ends up back in school in 1988 and, rather than confronting the fears he had then, instead opts to settle old scores with his tormentors by using his knowledge of their less than stellar futures. But his friends and family, notably Darlene, his 80’s cliché-spouting sister Angie (Rachel Retha Middleton), and his boyhood crush Mark (Jarrett Ho) may end up in the crossfire.
There are many humorous gems, from the opening video montage lampooning Left and Right cable news networks to a zany commercial for the latest pharmaceutical aid for existential dread. A running gag is a green-skinned Monster (Patrick Burch) who follows Mr. M around like a lost puppy and serves as doppelgänger whose comic presence turns poignant as Mr. M himself turns monstrous. Mr. M’s metaphysical journey even leads him to 1816 Lake Geneva, Switzerland, and a madcap encounter with his hero Mary Shelley (an engaging Frances Brennand Roper). She laments that people think her husband Percy does her writing, kvetches about Lord Byron’s tawdry love life, and gives Mr. M sound advice on improving his lot that he is, of course, loathe to follow.
Simon’s hang-dog performance and comic timing make for a sympathetic Mr. M, especially in touching scenes with Holloman’s empathetic Darlene. Middleton’s Angie, who hides her advanced intelligence to keep a hold on her lunkheaded boyfriend Lewis (Spencer Pugh), is also a funny highlight. Chris Herlevic’s video digital design, Selena Price’s lighting plot, and Taubert Nadalini’s sound design all successfully blend for a spooky vibe.
Meindl’s dilemma is that he has so many topics he wants explore — teenage angst, gay love, climate change, class inequality — but cannot get them all to connect well. His sharp staging does keep things moving at a jaunty pace, but some adroit editing would help sift the mix. His sobering final scene, however, brings home the enduring predicament facing us all in combatting the climate collapse. Hopefully, we are not too late to learn a lesson.
Salt + Seed Production, AMAW Studios, 905 Cole Theater, Hollywood.; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm, Thurs., Nov. 13, 8 pm; thru Nov. 14. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/anthonymeindlsactorworkshop/1878997?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafkwD9uwalPFUJ8UF8kwIXEo0f0ovFPVJypyOacvKXNIztR-2FOzmVzEgipsA_aem_0horr65tA5idE1tl1D_ucw Running time: two hours with a 15 minute intermission.
