The strange and twisted tales of Denis Johnson give one director at Theater Schmeater "a nerdy pleasure" to direct. One actress calls the writer's dark vision closer to real life than realistic theater.
Theater Schmeater continues with playwright Denis Johnson's Cassandra cycle with "Shoppers Carried by Escalators into the Flames," which opened Nov. 4 and runs through Dec. 10.
Johnson's tales of the Cassandra family, their very dysfunctional lives and their problems with the Department of Agriculture (among other entities) began with "Hellhound on My Trail" produced by Theater Schmeater earlier this year.
Theater Schmeater artistic director Rob West directed "Hellhound" in March and returns to the director's chair for "Shoppers."
"His poetry, his plays and his novels have that (forgive me) postmodern ambiguity that gives me a lot of freedom to play," West said of Johnson. "And, without sounding slavish or obsequious, his work is so rich with metaphor, symbol and reference that it gives me a nerdy pleasure translating these to action on stage. There's a lot in these plays that's balanced with a very approachable playing style, and I don't see that in many modern works."
"It's the apocalypse with talking television," added Lauri Watkins, who plays Marcie in "Shoppers." "And it makes just as much sense as "Hellhound"-there are a few special jokes - but you don't need to have seen the first play."
West also emphasized that the trilogy does not need to be seen in order to make sense. "There's nothing in the first play that you need to know to enjoy the second," he said. "Each play is independent, and stands on its own."
Although there have been changes in cast and new people added, West said that his current cast definitely "got" where Johnson was coming from.
"In addition to the returning designers and actors, I've added a number of super-fun and talented people who absorbed the spirit of the trilogy quickly, and work together well. To sum that up, everybody working on these projects so far has seemed to "buy in"-and that makes it a true pleasure to work on," he said.
Watkins, who normally handles PR for Theater Schmeater, was attracted to the current play by Johnson's writing." I've wanted this part since we did "Hellhounds" and I read the script. Marcie is very childlike and has this incredible sense of wonder," said Watkins, who makes her Seattle theater stage debut in the production.
In a crazy universe, how do we entertain ourselves?" she asked. Johnson's plays "seem to embody our lives better than more realistic drama," Watkins concluded.
In the latest round of Cassandra family hell, brother Bro is back in town, determined to break up the wedding of his former childhood sweetheart and work on his rehab.
"And, as part of his rehab, he has to find the roots of the family's tragedies and those are pretty tragic," said Watkins.
West thinks the edgy material is just right for Schmee's audience. "I have a feeling that the 'money and run' crowd will like it for its humor, and the 'Twilight Zone' crowd will like it for its semi-surreal nature," he said. "The show is farcical at times, and apocalyptic at others. I like to say it's got something for everybody. But that might just be my love of dark humor sneaking out again."
Thursday shows are "pay what you can" and Friday/Saturday tickets are $18. Hill[[In-content Ad]]
