No need to visit this city
"This is the New Loneliness" is the glaxon bleat of many a commentary article in this age of connected-to-disconnection, so says Jamie Varon in her recent post. She's right that it's always been with us and is only more exacerbated in this age of so-called progress. My first response to such social criticism is to think back to this xkcd comic illustrating some bygone commentary of the last two centuries. But hell, why stop there. Socrates didn't want writing to take hold for fear it would create forgetfulness and supplant discussion as a means to knowledge. Conrad Gessner, the 'Swiss Pliny', was worried about information overload resulting from, wait for it: the invention of the printing press. But type in "Does the internet cause mental illness?" and you'll be deluded with a litany of articles outlining studies showing how dangerous this new world is.
What with the comic book styling of the set by Greg Culley and the posters showing a stylized woman in a cape valiantly holding a mobile phone, the first act at first appears to be an origin story for a superhero of sorts. Brenna (Stevie Chaddock) has climbed a cellular tower with the intent of committing suicide after her two-month online relationship with Paul (Andrew Bailes) ends abruptly. She's filming the whole thing to post on YouTube, of course. A sudden tingle and strike of lightning later, and blammo, Brenna is imbued with the power of...having the internet flowing through her brain. Also, she can move stuff with her mind.
For no other reason than "the plot requires it" (a recurring motif), Brenna shows up at Paul's sister Gale's house (Jamie Bragg). Since their parent's died and Paul disappeared, she's been on a quest to print the internet, worried terribly about permanence in an age of the ephemeral. The shoestring relationship Brenna and Gale shared has also ghosted out, leaving both feeling isolated and alone.
So where is Paul? Turns out he joined a cult, er, Order, called the New Luddites, founded by Sal (Tom Dacey Carr), who believes that technological progress should have ended after 1980. There is some general commentary on the arburd arbitrary nature of this when Paul, desperate to contact his sister one last time, must try to use a landline and phone book instead of just picking up his mobile. Why they don't just join the Amish is a mystery.
But wait, there's more.
A surveillance team of a good cop Monroe (Nick Mikula) and nasty cop Sykes (Meredith Ernst) has hunted Gale down after she's flagged as aggressor. Printing all those "A" websites resulted in some pretty nasty stuff already ("Aryan Nation," for one). So, they arrive just in time to witness Brenna's beginning meltdown and emerging telekinetic powers. More stuff happens, and Brenna finds Paul just in time for her powers to go full Marvel Phoenix. Spoiler alert: Brenna merges with the Internet (capital I intentional) while simultaneously burning most of the city's population alive through their mobile devices. The story splits off to follow Brenna as she tries to figure out her new Tron like existence while Monroe, Gale and Sal fight in the rubble of the world made 19th century.
Absolutely nothing makes sense after the second act starts. It was hard to focus over the constant mental hum of "But wait, if that's true, why is that still? If they are, how is...??" Trying to inject some kind of commentary on the nature of human connection only makes it worse.
Add to that some uneven tones, paper-thin characters brought to life with amateur-hour acting and directing and nothing-new social commentary and you've got nothing less than incomprehensible mess. Leave this phoenix in the ashbin.
Paper City Phoenix continues through May 8th at Alley Stage, 4147 N. Broadway (map), with performances Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 8pm, Sundays 2pm. Tickets are $20, and are available online at BrownPaperTickets.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com ). More information at TympanicTheatre.org. (Running time: 2 hours, includes an intermission)
behind the scenes
Rebecca Willingham (director), Greg Culley (scenic design), Jerica Hucke (costume design), Brian Berman (lighting design), Sarah Espinoza (sound design), Eric Shoemaker (prop design), Noah Grossman (projections design), Mark Lancaster (violence design), Michael Sanow (technical director), Chris Acevedo (production manager), Erin Altekruse (stage manager), Becky Cagney (assistant stage manager), Josh Mikel (poster design), Kelly Parker (casting director), Sergio Soltero (photos)
Tags: 16-0430, Alley Stage, Andrew Bailes, Becky Cagney, Brian Berman, Celeste Burns, Chicago Theater, Chris Acevedo, Christopher Waldron, Clint May, Eric Shoemaker, Erin Altekruse, Greg Culley, Jamie Bragg, Jerica Hucke, Josh Mikel, Kelly Parker, Mark Lancaster, Meredith Ernst, Michael Sanow, Nick Mikula, Noah Grossman, post, Rebecca Willingham, Sarah Espinoza, Sergio Soltero, Stevie Chaddock, Tom Dacey Carr, Tympanic Theatre, Walt McGough
Category: 2016 Reviews, Alley Stage, Clint May, Tympanic Theatre
