con-con’s apocalyptic comedy ‘The Train Play’ lacks a third rail

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics

Have you ever taken public transportation and found yourself captivated but then held captive by a talkative stranger in the seat next to you? 

Such is the case with Liz Duffy Adams’ 90-minute apocalyptic comedy “The Reckless Ruthless Brutal Charge of It, or The Train Play,” which is currently on stage at convergence-continuum.

At first, the eight talkative strangers on a mysterious train to places unknown are intriguing. 

They include a 12-year-old comic book heroine with the power to halt time (Taylor Tucker), a bored mythological Earth Goddess (Marcia Mandell),  a discombobulated physicist (Lauren B. Smith), God’s much-abused messenger Gabriel (Cody Zak), a disenchanted world traveler (Tim Cole), and three musical Russian brothers (Robert Branch, Beau Reinker, Jack Matuszewski) with a balalaika in tow. 

Each colorful character direct-addresses the audience to tell us who they are and from what they are trying to escape.  The writing is clever, comedic and sets us up for a wonderfully absurd journey where all the world’s a metaphor.

But as this train car loaded with chatty monologists heads toward its final destination, this play seems to stall, idle and go nowhere.  Missing is a literary third rail – that slightly elevated element that provides power, momentum and meaning to the work and helps guide its direction. 

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