HUMAN ERROR by Eric Pfeffinger makes a West Coast debut that might make a pretty good pilot for a TV comedy series.. The Honeymooners, The Flintstones, The Life of Riley, The Neighbors meet social issues and "modern" medicine.
The premise pretty much works except for the staging. The wide wide stage at The Matrix leaves some portion of the audience in the dark from time to time. Opportunities for action and movement are passed by.
Each of the five characters in this play (Andrew Hawtrey, Kristen Vaganos, Kapil Talwalkar, Kiel Kennedy, Lauren Burns) seems to stand with one foot in the play and one foot on their own. This means that acting styles range from screeching at the top of one's lungs: glass breaking!!! to subtle and thoughtful rendering of the part where good old liberal me is challenged by the difficult logic of the very pretty blonde.
I encourage all who love theatre to support this show. Arrive early for stadium seating as seats far audience left and right become a challenge for 'getting' the whole performance. Bring a cushion if you have a tender behind. The seats are fifty years old.
When one is knocked out by the functional bare bones set by James Morris, lighting design by Rachel Manheimer and truly wonderful interstitial original? music by Christopher Moscatiello? and my wishing about fifteen minutes in that I was somewhere else, it is a tough call.
There are moments when the audience was raucous in response to the predictable antics that came in two full dimensions from the actors. Early on, there is a missed opportunity for blood. See if you can catch it. Had there been blood, to me. an infusion may have elevated the premise to farce that would have supported some of the acting styles.
What is the premisw? Well you may ask. Human Error. No spoiler alert. Just go and see what you think and take a pal ready for some well timed jokes. The rhythms of the story lend themselves to the essential sit com pattern of set up, beat, punch line. rim shot.
Flip side? Had director Joshua Bitton encouraged his actors to play with one another and to set a standard for vocal projection and character development, leaving behind their stereotypical renditions allowing the emergence of more human characters, the premise and the title would, to me, be a more thorough and all together more interesting production.
Why this mixed message? The audience was enthralled with the energy and presentation by all five actors. (Well, it was opening night) One critic near by was laughing really hard and shot to their feet at the curtain call! So. some of this is on me. That's why it is vital that if you read my stuff, you will ignore the digs and see for yourself why there should be blood.
A gusher would be wonderful!
HUMAN ERROR
By Eric Pfeffinger
Directed by Joshua Bitton
West Coast Premiere under Off the Clock with Rogue Machine Theatre
Crew:
James Morris (Scenic Design)
Rachel Manheimer (Lighting Design)
Chris Moscatiello (Sound Design)
Christine Cover Ferro (Costume Design)
Rich Wong (Rehearsal Stage Manager)
Ramón Valdez (Running Stage Manager)
Run time approximately 90 minutes (no intermission)
WHAT: “Human Error”
Written by Eric Pfeffinger
Directed by Joshua Bitton
Produced by: Guillermo Cienfuegos
A Rogue Machine Production
Age recommendation 13+
WHERE: ROGUE MACHINE (in the Matrix Theatre)
7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
(Street parking) Good luck with that. Arrive early and watch for 'in the neighborhood restrictions'
WHEN:
Opening: 8pm on Saturday, August 10, 2024
Schedule: 8pm Fridays, Saturdays; 3pm Sundays
Closing: September 1, 2024
HOW: Reservations at https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/
HOW MUCH:
General Seating: $45
Seniors: $35
Students with ID and children under 18: $25
Shows4Less: Aug. 16 ($10+), Aug. 23 ($15+), Aug. 30
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