By: Daryll Pickett
I was excited to see this brand new play but hesitant to write a review. Ultimately reflecting on all the hard work that went into the production, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to promote this work and give my view of new theatre.
This story tells the journey of a young man and the effects of his decisions. When young Simon meets Dr. Max, a record store owner who has figured out how to jump through time/dimensions, Simon learns that his own heartache and bad choices lead him to committing a crime against his close friend in a time of desperation. I applaud the effort of this playwright for creating a new work for the theatre, especially one that brings such positive messages as this one. We humans find it hard to learn from our mistakes, frequently repeating them. When given the opportunity to do good when it was in his power to do so, Simon chose to do so.
Michael Clary brought a unique honesty to Simon as he does with each character I’ve seen this actor portray. Simon is a young man in love with a woman who doesn’t love him back. While the actress playing his love interest didn’t give a performance to equal his intensity, Michael’s skill created believability. In addition, I had up until this point only seen Michael as a song and dance man, but this performance proved his ability to carry a show without having to rely on the sparkle and shine of a musical. This showed Michael’s intelligence for creating character from the printed page and his strength as a leading man especially in a straight play.
Darryl Pickett portrayed Dr. Max. This character was fun and quirky. In a show so full of impossible possibilities it was fun to have an eccentric and at times slightly crazed record shop owner who invented a way to move back and forth through space and time to bounce off the unbelievability that comes with time travel and other Sci Fi topics set in present time. Darryl made it possible for this insane story to happen with other characters being the straight men.
A little more on the show. The pacing at the top of this play stumbled a bit. As performers, we often have a difficult time starting. There seemed to be a lot of anticipating lines from all the actors for a short while. The rhythm of the play gained its pace around the time Simon connects his musical interests with Dr. Max. In line with connection, we find out pretty quickly that Dr. Max and Simon are actually the same person, separated by years or dimensions. I found this predictable due to the fact that there was a time travel element to the play. I would have appreciated the fact that this information came so quickly if the characters shared common mannerisms, hairstyles or even clothing however, both Simon and Max were only similar in their love for music and the pressings of the recordings. Dr. Max’s outfit included a slightly shimmery trench coat which I had hoped to be some significant piece but only turned out to be wardrobe choice. There were a couple Disney pop culture references in this piece which I didn’t appreciate. I feel such choices come across as low hanging fruit and over time these references don’t not stand up. I also would have preferred less narration from Dr. Max and more dialogue for the supporting cast. While it still needs some ironing out and maybe a stronger direction, the play was entertaining.
Special shout out to Kimberly Luffman for her performance as Katarina. This actress is incredibly likable. I would have appreciated more dialogue for this actress to really develop and ground the character. Marty Wicks did a stellar job as Bach, especially when the character’s health began to fade.
New creative works: I am always apprehensive about new work in the theatre. Many playwrights tend to reach for the avant garde with highly sexualized, super provocative or openly indecent pieces. I appreciate Daryll Pickett for creating a story about the human condition and our ability to change something in ourselves when we recognize a flaw, no matter how uncomfortable such a change might be. The script didn’t resort to four letter words to make itself feel adult. My challenge to the theatre community is to create intelligent theatre. Adult because of the circumstances and life experiences, not because of the rating.
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