[NEohioPAL]Berko review: A NUMBER @ Dobama

[Roy Berko]

COMPELLING ‘A NUMBER’  at DOBAMA

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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


Dobama is on a roll.  Earlier this season they
presented a brilliant version of ‘THE GOAT OR, WHO IS
SYLVIA.’  They have followed this up with an equally
compelling production of Caryl Churchill’s ‘A NUMBER.’
a drama about a father and his cloned sons.  Yes,
cloned SONS!

Caryl Churchill, the author of ‘FAR AWAY,’ ‘SERIOUS
MONEY,’ and ‘CLOUD NINE’ has been called “the most
daring of our dramatists.”    ‘A NUMBER,’ her latest
play, was described by a London reviewer as a “moving,
thought-provoking, and dramatically thrilling” play. 
Believe me, this time you can believe the reviewer.

The setting is modern, the concept even more modern. 
As ‘A NUMBER’ begins, a son confronts his father with
the startling information that he has genetically
identical counterparts and is merely one of “a
number.”   Churchill spends the next hour pondering,
in spooky fashion, the wild issue of assembly-line
reproduction.   She uses the concept of cloning and
multiple representations to open a thought-provoking
inquiry into morality, nature versus nurture, and the
nature of love.

There are many questions in this play, such as:   Why
was the young man cloned?  Are he and the other
“numbers,” though genetically the same, similar,
different because of their upbringing?  And, if one of
the clones is mentally disoriented, are all of the
‘numbers’ mental misfits?

The play has been exquisitely mounted by director
Sonya Robbins.  She has a clear concept of the work
and takes her audience on a soaring ride of emotions. 
Her actors display total clarity about who they are
and what they have to do to mesmerize the audience. 
She has paced the production well and created just the
right tensions.

Joel Hammer gives yet another award winning
performance as the father who, at first is reluctant
to discuss what he has done and his motives.  Hammer
perfectly walks the fine line between drama and
melodrama with careful finesse.  

Todd Krispinsky is known as one of the most creative
scenic designers in the area.  He again creates a
shockingly spare and effective setting for this play,
drawing all the attention to the performances by
having the wooden angles of the set all point toward
the center of the action.  We also experience
Krispinsky in an additional light...outstanding actor.
 Portraying 3 different people, all of whom, of course
look exactly alike, he makes a clear physical, vocal
and emotional character of each.  Even if Esther
Montgomery’s costumes hadn’t so clearly separated each
of the clones, Krispinsky’s acting finesse would have
made the distinctions clear.  This is an amazing
performance. 

Do not get the idea that this is an abstract and
overly dramatic play.  It’s not.  Churchill approaches
the matter as both grave and comic.

If you are wondering, we do learn which one is 
the"real" son and which ones are Memorex. 

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   Dobama’s ‘A NUMBER’ is a perfect
follow-up to ‘THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA.’  It is a
MUST SEE!  

Dobama’s production of ‘A NUMBER’, which opened at the
Cleveland Play House will complete it’s run at  The
Pilgrim Congregation Church, 2592 West 14th Street at
the corner of West 14th and Starkweather, in the
Tremont neighborhood. The show runs through February
5.  For information and tickets call 216-932-3396.


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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