Rarely do I get the opportunity or even take the time to see a play that I have written a review for more than one time. "DO YOU FEEL ANGER" by Mara Nelson-Greenberg comes up again because I was so knocked out by the show the firest time, that I wanted to see if it held up.
This is a link to my first review.
http://onstagelosangeles.blogspot.com/2023/01/do-you-feel-anger-at-circle-x.html
It may show up over to the right of this page..
That director, Halena Keys, keeps these excellent actors cranked up to eleven is truly a credit to her and the strong ensemble. I might have said "Pirandello meets Monty Python.." because this play is a modern example of Theatre of the Absurd. Some jokes are played so beautifully, that we might miss them. There is still a lot.. a whole lot.. of yelling and information delivered in such a machine gun fashion that it takes a second for it to sink in. I still love defining the term 'empathy' as a bird! See the show and you might get it. The full house responding was fun for us all.
François-Pierre Couture's perfectly executed set and lighting hold up with mad interstitial scene changes and a warning about strobe lights that add to the disorienting clamor of the play. I still think that the white board markers need to be wider to share the information that empathy facilitator, Sofia (Paula Rebelo), uses to attempt to bring her loopy bill collector charges into understanding 'empathy'.. The energy in this full length one act never lets up.
Rose Portillo as Sofia's mom, attempting to connect with her daughter on the phone, is at counterpoint to the riot act antics of the office manager, Jon (Casey Smith), Howie (Rich Liccardo:), Jordan (Napoleon Tavale) and Eva (Tasha Ames), leaving us to wonder whose reality is the real reality? Have we .. perhaps .. just been a party to a dream... or a nightmare?
Jan Munroe is the guest 130 year old man who rolls into the conference room prepared to blow the place to smithereens. Evidenly, he's been the love interest for Eva who shoos him out of the building. He interrupts himself needing to tell the story of his childhood on the playground at the age of five. It works. Munroe is internally frantic with cans of dog food as bombs.
Circle X is back with a strong opener. It's refreshing to see an great script excellently executed!
Cast:
Assistant Director – Lee Hannah Conrads
Set and Lighting Design – François-Pierre Couture
Lighting Design – Stephen Azua
Costume Design – Dianne K. Graebner
Sound Design – Jesse Mandapat
Prop Master – Kat Haan
Specialty Prop Design – Richard Maher
Production Stage Manager – Roella Dellosa
Assistant Stage Manager – Yaesol Jeong
Box Office Manager and Front of House Manager – Jasmine Leung
Publicist – Lucy Pollak
Graphic Design – Christopher Komuro
Program Design – Rita Ikerd
Video Design – Dustin Hughes
Social Media Manager – Brandon Ganske
Directed by Halena Keys
Atwater Village Theatre
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