Elemeno Pea
Written by Molly Smith Metzler
Directed by Steve Scott
at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr (map)
thru Jan 12 | tickets: $25-$30 | more info
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A not-so-subtle and inconsistent satire on class and money
Redtwist Theatre presents
Elemeno Pea
Review by Patrick Dyer
Satire is always a challenging line to walk. How can you bring an issue to the forefront and shed new light on it through laughter and the mishaps of human behavior? The key is to treat satire as seriously as any other form of drama, and the best way to realize this is through subtlety. Stressing this doesn’t make your satire funnier but, more importantly, poignant. And sadly that’s not what we get in the latest Redtwist Theatre production, Molly Smith Metzler’s satire of class and money, Elemeno Pea.
As far as social satires as go, Elemeno Pea is nothing special. In fact, it feels less like a legitimate critique on modern society and its obsession with money and more like a bad, drawn-out episode of “Sex and the City”. The problems the characters face for the most part are what are now known as “first-world problems”: problems that people of high social status think are actual dilemmas but in reality are just miniscule inconveniences. For example, Michaela worries about having to stay in a four-star hotel when she goes to New York for a business trip as opposed to a five-star one; Simone is frustrated that her novel hasn’t been accepted yet by any MFA program in the country; Devon is upset with having to live in the basement of her parent’s house (which nowadays seems like a blessing for most twenty-somethings); and Ethan’s upset with people not treating his boat “Ethan 2” with respect. This wouldn’t be a problem in and of itself if Metzler framed them in a way to show how shallow people in society, like these characters, are today, but her script goes from way-too-obviously satirical to painfully melodramatic halfway through, making her characters appropriately shallow and self-absorbed but to the script’s detriment. Without proper framing or even stakes, the comedy falls flat and practically dissolves by the play’s abrupt end.
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As far as the acting goes, that’s a bit harder to talk about. All of the actors fit their roles effectively and obviously are passionate about the material. It’s just that their characters are either too self-absorbed or mean-spirited to care for, and there’s not much they can do to elevate these contrived roles. Argus is appropriately shallow and oblivious but all the while I was wondering why she decides to stay with someone like Ethan. Speaking of whom, Sherwin captures Ethan’s pretentiousness effectively but his character is the most superfluous – quite frankly, I cringed whenever he (literally) burst onto the scene. Moseley as Devon is snarky, brash, immature, and at times even despicable (particularly in the final confrontation towards the end). Grant as Michaela is an emotional train-wreck who makes every single inconvenience in her life into a tragic dilemma (and trust me, that gets old really fast). Garcia as the estate’s only maintenance worker Jos-B (pronounced HOSE-BEE) can’t escape the character’s stereotypical Puerto Rican behavior and baffling actions like cussing out his employer and stealing her alcohol right in front of her. I’m pretty sure he’d be fired in a millisecond. Director Steve Scott doesn’t bring any energy or life into the production, resulting in it feeling lifeless and worn out by the end (though, to be fair, if there was more meat to the script, he’d no doubt bring more out of it).
Out of all the dramatic forms, satire demands the most thought and effort. Elemeno Pea is either too preoccupied with trying to squeeze in different tones or too lazy to really explore the issues it obviously addresses. What could have been a witty insight into class relations in the twenty-first century turns into a melodramatic, unfunny mess with too much complaining and not enough doing.
Rating: ★½
Elemeno Pea continues through January 12th at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays 3pm. Tickets are $25-$30, and are available by phone (773-728-7529) or online through BuzzOnStage.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at Redtwist.org. (Running time: 1 hours 30 minutes without intermission)
Photos by Jan Ellen Graves
artists
cast
Elizabeth Argus (Simone), Johnny Garcia (Jos-B), Jacqueline Grandt (Michaela), Carley Moseley (Devon), Michael Sherwin (Ethan), Melonie Collmann (Michaela after Jan 1, 2014)
behind the scenes
Steve Scott (director), Alicia Hynes (assistant director), Allison Queen (stage manager), Olivia Leah Baker (assistant stage manager, costume design), Ross G. Hoppe (set design, technical director), Christopher Burpee (lighting design), Christopher Kriz (sound design), Jeff Shields (props design), Jan Ellen Graves (co-producer, graphics, photos), Kevin McDonald (dramaturg), Alan Weusthoff (set construction), Eric Vigo (master electrician), Charles Bonilla (box office manager), E. Malcolm Martinez (box office associate), Johnny Garcia (box office associate, associate producer), Michael Colucci (co-producer)
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