Opening the Curtain
Sorry, Charlie
So you work at some high-powered consulting firm...burning the candle at both ends…You're in a bit of trouble, took advantage of a situation and now it's coming back to haunt you.
By Anthony Byrnes • • 3m ListenThis is Anthony Byrnes Opening the Curtain on LA Theatre for KCRW.
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found now playing at the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena.
Memento, one part Kafka -- that is, if Joseph K. were involved in identity fraud and had a coke habit that feels reminiscent of the late 80's. Basically, Charlie's hit a sort of mid-life crisis and discovers he can ditch it all, steal a new identity, and begin anew. At least that's the promise -- but as always, existential angst and emptiness are a little tougher to shrug off than simply getting a new driver's license. As they say, no matter where you go, there you are...
What's remarkable about this play, written only three short years ago, is how distant it feels. It's one of those moments when a play arrives almost in a time capsule from a different era like the recent revival of Lanford Wilson's 25-year-old Burn This! But with this play, well we're still wearing underwear we bought when it premiered.
The production is still very much worth seeing. It's another in what I'll call Boston Court's "troubling ideas about our new century series." Boston Court is consistently picking meaty intellectual plays that may not be perfect, but leave you thinking and engaged. They've also picked a fantastic director and design team for this production. Nancy Keystone both directed and designed the stark minimalist set. Keystone directs as much with images as with words and she keeps the dizzying array of characters and locations flowing by until we land in each distinct locale: a lost property office, a nightclub, a seaside fortune teller, a grungy bathroom. The effect is as if the world is rushing by Charlie until he settles, for a moment, in each scene. Keystone's set, matched with Chris Kuhl's elemental lighting, are a beautiful study in simplicity and shadow.
And hey, if you're feeling the itch to get away for a while, a long while, you might pick up a couple useful pointers.
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found plays at the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena through May 29.
For info on the show text the word "curtain" to 69866 and join the conversation at KCRW.com/theatre.
This is Anthony Byrnes Opening the Curtain on LA Theatre for KCRW.
Banner image of (L to R) Valerie Spencer, Nick Mills, Time Winters, Brad Culver and Carolyn Ratteray on How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found: Ed Krieger, Boston Court