Michael Dale's Theatre Crawl - “The world needs metaphors more than ever!”

By Michael Dale

Christina Toth, Elisha Lawson, Campbell Symes, Max Samuels and Michael DeFilippis in George Kaplan (Photo: Nancy Fallon)

This week…

George Kaplan at The New Ohio Theatre through December 3.  Tickets $25/Students and Under 30, $20.

Broken Box Mime Theater’s Frankenstein: Technology, Monsters, and The Realities We Create.  Closed.  Check BKBX’s website for future productions.

“The world needs metaphors more than ever!”

If the name George Kaplan doesn’t mean anything to you, don’t worry.  You’ll get a full rundown by the time Samuel Buggein’s translation of Frederic Sonntag’s hilariously dark politically-minded satire is done.

Press material says the comedy thriller is one of Europe’s most produced plays of the last decade, but damn, with director Max Hunter guiding a terrific ensemble cast (Christina Toth, Max Samuels, Elisha Lawson, Campbell Symes and Michael DeFilippis) in a sharply-staged production, this has got 2022 America spray painted all over it.

 The opening image is both creepy and a big belly-laugh, with five masked anarchists posed before a “Chickens and Stripes” flag in a member’s parents’ summer home, ineptly trying to videotape their manifesto to be broadcast to the world.

Unsure as to whether or not they’re currently having a meeting (They’re drinking coffee, but “it’s usually beer that defines a meeting.”), they can’t even decide if it’s proper to decide by voting.  (“We should vote to see if we should vote.”).

But what they do know, all dressed in jumpsuits with a sewn-in “George” nametag, is that their goal is to achieve a world populated with people who identify as George Kaplan in order to…  Well, it’s never really stated what they want to do, but it involves some kind of universal identity, even if everyone claiming that identity has their own idea of what it means.

After a cliffhanger ending, the actors switch to unrelated characters to play out two more scenes – one related to media, the other to government – pressing on with the question of who or what is George Kaplan.  To say too much would spoil the experience, but, through continually clever dialog, subtle humor and sudden, but realistic, twists, George Kaplan plays out scenarios that are both bizarre and, in a post-January 6th world, all too possible, warning audiences to never underestimate the influence of an inept group of beer-drinkers plotting revolutions in someone’s parents’ summer home.

 Just in case you didn’t notice this while passing through the Booth Theatre lobby to see Kimberly Akimbo…

Broken Box Mime invites its audience members to mingle with the cast over tea and cookies after performances…

…which is great, because there’s a lot to talk about.  I was introduced to the 11-year-old troupe that uses mime to create narratives commenting on social issues earlier this year with their production of Take Shape, a series of vignettes that depict how things transform and evolve.

Last week I had a swell time at their riff on themes explored by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein: Technology, Monsters, and The Realities We Create.  As with all BKBX productions, artistic director Becky Baumwoll’s talented ensemble (Julia Cavagna, Duane Cooper, Blake Habermann, David Jenkins, Marissa Molnar, Kristin McCarthy Parker, Regan Sims, Leah Wagner and Josh Wynter) create each segment as a group, with music director Jack McGuire mixing the soundscape.

Becky Baumwoll, David Jenkins, Marissa Molnar, Blake Habermann and Dinah Berkeley in Broken Box Mime Theater’s Frankenstein: Technology, Monsters, and The Realities We Create (Photo: Bjorn Bolinder)

Beginning with a two-person scene that questions if the true monster is the creation or the creator, the program proceeds to an ensemble piece where people find comfort in shedding their individuality in favor of a group identity.  There’s more of a literal shedding of sorts in a K-POP parody (M-POP) where a singing star reveals something deeper than what’s in the commercially packaged mold.  A full-company scene has corporate employees happily going about their daily routines with clockwork precision until their efficiency is compromised by the climate change they contribute to.

Frankenstein was one of the many pop-up gigs BKBX produces and has already ended its three-performance run, but I highly recommend visiting their website for info on future shows.

Curtain Line…

Reverse-gender Macbeth: “Honey, can you get this spot out for me?”