[NEohioPAL]Berko review: TALES OF THE LOST FORMICANS (convergence)

[Roy Berko]

ALIENS INVADE convergence-continuum

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)


--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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


No matter your reaction to the plays they produce, you
have to give credit to Artistic Director Clyde Simon
and Executive Director Brian Breth--they never pick
plays that are ordinary.  The dynamic duo seems to
search out scripts that create an itch that is hard to
scratch and incite intellectual chaos in viewers. 
They have done it again with Constance Congdon’s
‘TALES OF THE LOST FORMICANS.’

Cogan is a Guggenheim Fellow who has received several
playwriting awards.  She has been described as “a
genuine pioneer,” “a truly original writer,” a “kind
of post modernist who desires to explore the
collective nervous breakdown of American society.” 
She is noted for departing from the tradition of
narrative dramatic realism and creating a
theatricality of theatre.  This is much in the vein of
the early twentieth century dramatists and directors
who intentionally made audiences aware that they were
not seeing reality by using fragmented settings and
devices to make the audience realize that they were
watching a play..  She supposedly was one of the
leaders in making theatre into a “kinetic event.”

With this said, you can understand why seeing ‘TALES
OF THE LOST FORMICANS’ is not your every-day
theatrical experience.  And that’s exactly what
convergence continuum is all about.  The theatre has
been able to survive by cultivating an audience of
like-minded people who don’t want to see “every day
theatre.”

The ‘TALES OF THE LOST FORMICANS’ could be termed a
tragic comedy which is part dream play and part
sci-fi.  It is formed around the premise that space
aliens are observing and interpreting suburban life
though the lens of their own culture.   

The play follows the story of Cathy and her
dysfunctional family.  After her husband impregnates
one of his students, she leaves him and moves from New
York City to her childhood home in a midwestern suburb
to care for her father who is battling Alzheimer's
disease. Her rebellious son, overbearing mother,
self-destructive best friend and spaced-out neighbor
complete the real-life characters.   In addition, a
group of alien narrators observe.

The aliens dub the humans “Formicans”--users of
Formica.  The goings on are caught on film which the
extraterrestrials “rewind” several times when they
realize that things are in the wrong place as they
make pronouncements about their subjects’ behavior.
Such statements as “they reproduce with difficulty”
and “they are grouped in loosely structured units
called families” resound with objective certainty.
Others, however, suggest that the alien researchers
are having difficulty deciphering the “complex but
strangely intangible” culture they unearth and the
numerous artifacts they find.  For example, they
carefully examine a kitchen chair, upholstered in
plastic with chrome legs.  Admitting that they do not
know “the significance of the hole in the backrest,”
they speculate that it may have been “a breathing hole
for the spirit of the sitter, or even the ever-present
eye of God.”

As is usually the case at convergence-continuum, the
play is well directed and acted.  Clyde Simon has
paced the show well; wisely plays it as comedy instead
of farce; has incorporated many appropriate
multi-media devices into the staging; and has
assembled an excellent cast.  

Wes Shofner is right on target as the Alzheimer
infected father.  Multi-recipient Times Tribute Award
winner Lucy Bredeson-Smith develops the role
effectively as his wife and mother of Cathy.   Though
much too young for the role, Amy Bistok is generally
believable as Cathy, but needed a more mature approach
to the role.  Robert Walker is full of the proper
teenage angst as Cathy’s son Eric.  Geoffrey Hoffman
effectively develops the character of the neighbor who
believes in conspiracies and aliens.  Christine
McBurney is generally unbelievable as Cathy’s friend
Judy.  Her lines often sound memorized and lacking in
meaning.  Arthur Grothe has watched enough sci-fi
movies to duplicate the expected sound and moves of
the visitor from outer space.

Adding somewhat to the confusion was the use of the
same actors to play aliens and humans.  Were we to
believe they were one in the same, had invaded human
bodies or that they were, in fact, different beings? 
Hmmm......

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  To some, ‘TALES OF THE LOST
FORMICANS’ will be a funny, deeply moving, and
insightfully revealing play.  To others it will
confound and confuse.  Whatever, the
convergence-continuum production is generally well
performed and fulfills the avowed mission of the
theatre to present plays not normally produced by
other local venues. 

‘TALES OF THE LOST FORMICANS’ runs at 8 pm Thursdays,
Fridays and Saturdays through May 21 at
convergence-continuum’s artistic home, The Liminis, at
2438 Scranton Rd. in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood.
 Tickets are $12 general admission and $9 for students
and seniors. For information and reservations call
216-687-0074. Seating for this production will be
limited to about 30.



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.


		
____________________________________________________
Sell on Yahoo! Auctions – no fees. Bid on great items.  
http://auctions.yahoo.com/