[NEohioPAL]Berko review: STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS (TitleWave)

[Roy Berko]

BEFUDDELING ‘STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS’ AT TITLEwave
THEATRE

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


Adam Rapp is one of the new breed of young American
playwrights.  He uses modern day situations, surreal
ideas and often implausible plot twists and turns to
create an illusion of a society under the microscope.

Rapp has been called a cross between writers
Christopher Durang and Sam Shepard.  But, as one
critic states, “This writer of young adult sci-fi
novels has neither the ingenuity of the former or the
searing honesty of the latter.”  Another observer
states that ‘STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS,’ the play
TITLEWave Theatre is now co-producing with Cleveland
Public Theatre, illustrates  “one dilemma when
producing new works. . .cultural ephemera quickly
become clichés.  Problems worsen when bizarre
characters combine with a stale sci-fi theme.”

This view is counter-balanced by critics, who, after
seeing the same production stated, “If you’re
interested in playwriting talent and want to see it
muscling toward maturity, you’ll find no more
fascinating example than ‘STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS.’ 
Another stated, ‘STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS’ is a gritty,
funny, surreal journey through extreme psychic
landscapes.”

So, what’s all the fuss about?  The Ledbetters are,
what has been termed in self-help psychology, as a
dysfunctional family.   They are definitely a group
who should appear on Jerry Springer as freaks or as
candidates for serious help by Dr. Phil.  

Husband and father Clifford is on worker's comp, a
semi-zombie skidding along on pain pills and beer. 
Wife Linda works overtime as a waitress, obsesses
about saints and vainly tries to retain a sense of
family. Daughter Shaylee has bailed out, and now lives
on the street as a drug-addicted whore. The only one
who has a floating glimpse of reality is brother
Wynne, a computer whiz, who has managed to offset a
sense of duty to this sick group with his own
obsession: a Samurai-themed computer game at which he
is so good he finds himself as one of three finalists
invited to come to New York for a live
reenactment/contest in which the winner will get $1
million. He ventures forth stopping along the way to
pick up one of the other competitors, a mute girl
named Sharice, with whom he has fallen in love online.
  What follows are some scenes which could have been
left out (a hitchhiking sidetrack in which he earns
$100 participating in a sex act and a visit from Snake
Lady, a colorful East Village denizen who occupies the
room next door).   After a brutal and bloody
competition there is an unclear resolution.

I found the script riddled with detours, and in the
end the writer seems at a loss as to how to wrap up
the whole thing.  

I’m still trying to figure out what message I was
supposed to carry from the play.  But that may be my
issue...I like plays that when they set out to teach
me something,  make that message clear.  I’m willing
to think, but not to dig and create meaning as that is
the job of the playwright.

The good news for this production is that there's a
lot worthwhile to see.  Young Stephen Dale gives an
outstanding performance as Wynne.  He gets the very
most out of a character which is often given lines
that are both unrealistic and not well written.

Meg Kelly Schroeder, as the mother and the Snake Lady,
Robert Ellis as the father and the auto driver, and 
Magdalyn Donnelly as the sister and girlfriend, all
are quite good.

Director Gregory Vovos has paced the play well and has
pointed the cast in the right direction. 

‘STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS’ is not a play for everyone. 
 If you like pseudo/contemporary plays you’ll probably
like this one.  If you are a traditionalist, you will
probably leave the theatre upset that you paid money
to see the play.  No matter, be aware that the show
contains blunt language, simulated decapitation and
sexual situations.  Again, these are a turn-on for
some and a turn-off for others.  

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  I pass on recommending or not
recommending.  (Gee, does that make me like the
playwright, unable to come to a clear ending?)

‘STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS’ runs through June 18 at
Cleveland Public Theatre.  For tickets calls
216-631-2727.   Running from June 5-15 is ‘NOCTURNE,’
another Adam Rapp play.  Directed by Jyana Gregory and
featuring Dan Kilbane as the sole performer, it runs
Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 pm.  Tickets are
available at the door, no advanced reservations will
be taken.  




Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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