[NEOPAL]Review: POONA THE ****dog (convergence)

[Roy Berko]

‘POONA THE ****DOG’ is a thought twister at
convergence-continuum

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)


--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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

A catalog description of ‘POONA THE ****DOG AND OTHER
PLAYS FOR CHILDREN,’ now on stage at
continuum-convergence, states, “These outrageous fairy
tales for grown-ups are not for the easily offended!  
Poona, our ingenuous heroine, meets up with aliens,
talking shrubs, and mealy-mouthed salesmen in her
quest to find someone to play in her big pink box.
Nothing is sacred in this raucous assault on the power
of language.”  

For those who are easily upset by foul language or
political attacks or questioning of the whys and
wherefores of modern society, read no further because
this play is not for you, and is definitely not for
ANY children.  If, on the other hand, you are
adventurous, want to stretch your imagination and
don’t care about &%#@ words, read on.

Jeff Goode, the author, has written a raucous, funny,
and perverse funhouse ride which takes no prisoners as
it highlights and attacks sex, relationships,
television, advertising, politics, religion and fairy
tales themselves.

How does Goode accomplish this?  He uses fairy tales
to tell the story of Poona the lonely ****dog who
spends about two hours pursuing friends to play with. 
 

In the first tale, the dog falls instantly in lust
when a handsome and conceited prince crosses her path.
  If this, like all fairy tales, had a
happily-ever-after ending, we’d all be satisfied and
on our way.  But, the prince turns out to be a people
user, taking advantage of our poor naive Poona, so she
must look further.  

Flip the page of the book and we find the next fairy
tale, and then the next, and then the next.   The
tales are social commentaries, such as when a
television set is crowned king of the Kingdom of Do
("where nobody did").  We see the tale of Suzy-Suzy
Cyber assassin who metamorphoses from an innocent
child into a hit woman, with the help of a computer. 
Then there is the tale of the guy who interviews God,
and wins $500 by out-smarting the “old” guy.  (I told
you if that you were easily offended not to read
beyond the first paragraph.)

These tales go on and on, alternately offensive,
baffling, disgusting, and delightful.  As one reviewer
put it, ‘POONA THE ***DOG’ is a warped experimental
oddity that almost defies description.”  Or, just
think “Saturday Night Live”with expletives on stage.

As with almost all convergence productions, director
Clyde Simon does an effective good job of pacing,
presents generally clear character development and
creative approaches to milking the laughs.  In spite
of his efforts, his cast is inconsistent in their
abilities to develop the multi-characterizations they
are required to create.  

Jovana Batkovic nicely textures the role of Poona. 
Lucy Bredeson-Smith milks everything she can out of
being a human television set.  Denise Astorino, as our
storyteller, does a nice job of verbally and visually
holding the chaos together.   Geoffrey Hoffman is
wonderful as the Rabbit.  His nose twitching is hutch
perfect!  Wes Shofner is his usual delightful self as
the Man Who Could Sell Anything and “God.”  Lisa
Bradley’s alien is right out of “Mork and Mindy.”  

Most of the rest of the cast have their highs and
lows, most often because they cannot sustain
consistent characterizations.  The singing, other than
the vocalilzations of Mark K, leaves much to be
desired.  This group should definitely not do a
musical.

Dan Pongallo and Katie Maurer’s graphic designs are
show highlights.  

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   As with most
convergence-continuum shows, ‘POONA THE ****DOG’ is
not for everyone.   And, as has become the pattern
since their theatre was conceived, the nitch audience
that identifies with Simon and Executive Director
Brian Breth’s philosophy of being in a 60s time-warp,
continues to find its way to the 50-seat theatre.  
This group won’t be disappointed with POONA.

‘POONA THE ****DOG AND OTHER PLAYS FOR CHILDREN’ runs
at 8 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through May
13 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 50.

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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