BY ADAM M. SCHENCK
‘Kid-Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh’
Swandive Theater’s production of “Kid-Simple” at the Southern Theater has much to recommend it. Co-directors Meg DiSciorio and Damon Runnals create an intricate set with the best sound design I have seen, or rather heard, in local theater. Sound bumps and soothes the audience.
Lead actor Boo Segersin portrays Moll, an inventive teenager, with energy and expressiveness. Kip Dooley is The Mercenary, a believable villain. Narrator Debra Berger outclasses NPR’s best voices as our guide in “Kid-Simple.” The rest of the cast (Nathan Gebhard, Sarah Broude, Kevin McLaughlin, and Derek Trost) provide comedy in what the directors call a “quirky fairytale.”
In this production the audience witnesses an astounding technical achievement, with dialogue timing and light changes taking a role themselves. Where the play falters is in the elements outside the control of the cast, crew and directors: “Kid-Simple” uses absurdist storytelling that makes it so the actors and the technical crew seem to be pushing the narrative along instead of the opposite. Actors and tech crew should serve story.
In the plot, what are the motivations of the villains who have stolen Moll’s deep-sound-hearing invention? And what is at stake? It seems that the very existence of sound—humanity’s ability to make and hear sound—could disappear. This is sort of like the plot of every superhero movie: the hero must Save the World.
Additionally, why does Moll’s family listen to a nostalgic radio play program when the story is set near the present? Why is there cursing and a theme of sex in a play that seems to be about children? Moll and Oliver are teens, yes, but children nonetheless.
So, go to “Kid-Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh” for the impressive technical organization and efforts of the cast. Get blessed by sound in the fairytale setting. Expect zany comedy, but not what Aristotle called “catharsis”—when we feel the experience of someone else so much that we feel the purgation of our own pent-up feelings—when for a moment we see outside ourselves.
The play runs through May 22. Box office is 612-340-0155. Or go to www.southern.com. The Southern Theater is located at 1420 S Washington Ave, Mpls. 55454.
‘The House of Blue Leaves’
The Theatre in the Round’s production of “The House of Blue Leaves” meets the two simplest and most important criteria for excellent theater: The script is solid and the acting is excellent. There may be little more to say.
John Guare’s 1966 script follows the saddest-of-sad-sacks Artie Shaughnessy, a New York City zookeeper who dreams of Hollywood fame as a songwriter. With him lives his mentally unstable wife, Bananas, whom Artie would like to send to a mental institution so that he can skedaddle for California with his girlfriend Bunny. Laughs, hijinks and more laughs come one after the other in what proves to be the blackest of black comedies.
Theatre in the Round has a 360-degree proscenium, which works brilliantly to make real the emotive acting from the cast. Benjamin S. Kutschied directs a cast that never misses a beat. Don Eitel portrays the lead, Artie; Eitel compels the audience’s interest whether he sings or discusses his dreams for escape. Kari Elizabeth Godfrey shines as Bunny, whose voice accent work proves both believable and comedic. Typifying this production’s tightrope walk between comedy and darkness is Kelli Gorr Raney as Bananas, who is by turns crazy, comedic and tragic.
“House” is a two-act play with two hours of action plus an intermission. The second act brings in more characters and becomes more madcap as the story progresses. The play was topical in its time with Artie and Bananas’ son Ronnie (Andrew P. Jacobsen) as an AWOL Vietnam War soldier.
However, the themes resonate deeply today, and not only in our bellicose political season. “The House of Blue Leaves” asks: How do we deal with failure, and what does society do with people who fail? Ronnie has a real case of what we’d call PTSD, and his character parallels his mother’s mental anguish. Further, Artie’s delusion of grandeur (he has little musical talent) shows how mental illness continues as genetic inheritance.
Another theme that comments on today’s society is fame: those who seek it and those who worship it. Artie’s friend, successful Hollywood director Billy (portrayed by Joel Raney), has found fame and wealth but has gained little more than that. Even the church is not immune to fame-lust: three nuns (portrayed by Wendy Freshman, Jean Shore and Autumn Sisson) wish to steal the sheen of fame, whether by getting close to Billy, or an actress (portrayed by Lori Roovers), or the Pope.
A great theatrical production garners one’s interest, builds tension and releases that tension. The goal is to see and feel outside ourselves, and see ourselves in the smiles and frowns of the stage. Director Kutschied, his cast and artistic and production staff deliver John Guare’s unique vision.
The final performances of “House of Blue Leaves” are May 20 & 21, 8 p.m., and May 22 2 p.m. Call 612-333-3010 or visit http://www.theatreintheround.org to reserve tickets. Theatre in the Round is at 245 Cedar Ave. in Minneapolis (where, delightfully, Fox News says no one speaks English!).
Adam M. Schenck can be reached at [email protected].
