Arizona State University playwriting alum Trista Baldwin was a recognized name even before she graduated. The local critics raved about her, theatre companies produced her work, and everyone in the community spoke glowingly of her quirky plays. Now, as she's gaining notice on the national scene, having been given good notices in Los Angeles and other locales, she has been honored by her alma mater by being given a mainstage production of one of her most successful works, ElectroPuss. Somehow, I never saw any of her popular scripts produced prior to this, but I've built up a great respect for her burgeoning career, and really looked forward to seeing this play of which everyone spoke highly. Perhaps my reaction is the result of ridiculously raised expectations, but now I can only wonder what all of the fuss was about. ElectroPuss is the type of script I would expect from a very good student playwright, but it's not even close to what I thought it would be.
Pretentious and indulgent, ElectroPuss is an absurdist fairytale about Electric Land, a power company that embodies all of the usual evils of corporate America. Trapped in this stifling world are sketchily drawn caricatures that are at best stock, and at worst, grating on the nerves. Everything is presented larger-than-life, and the themes of alienation, chauvinism, corporate indifference and greed, and the true nature of love are shaped by self-congratulatory quirkiness. There is nothing shaded in this show, which may be amusing to some, but which grows old quickly. Even by intermission, I was hoping that the standard style of an absurdly comic first act would give way to a deeper, richer, and more malevolent second filled with pertinent points. All I received was a Shakespearean-sounding cat that goes into heat and shorts out electricity. Potentially interesting allusions to androgynous worms, innocent songbirds, and wise felines seemed more about sounding deep than plumbing the depths. These and other images are littered through the script, more sights to see than thoughts to ponder. I really had hoped for a lot more.
The ASU Department of Theatre has gone all out to mount Baldwin's script. The design element is excellent, and the actors are obviously enjoying themselves. Director Ron May stretches everything past its natural breaking point, which is all that this script seems to want. Pacing starts at the speed of light, and only slows down for the occasional "romantic" moment between Amanda Kochert's annoyingly shrieky Muffy and Jason Deppen's dead-on-arrival deadpan Travis.
If the point is that subtlety is something to avoid, then May has done an excellent job with most of the other cast. Kelly Eisen plays Kochert's rival Shelly Ann alternately crazed and pathetic. Laurelann Porter is Muffy's mom, Carol, and her off-the-shelf insanity is plain for everyone to see. John Brady Talbot, as the evil boss Bob Mickey, is unoriginally played as a melodramatic villain. The only two interesting performances, and perhaps the most intriguing characters textually, are Tumor Tom and Electric Lucy, victims of the company they serve. Paul Broccolo doesn't shriek, even when perusing his hobby as a sideshow barker, and he genuinely commands empathy. Thomasina Daniels balances her requirements to be an auto show model narrator with a darker need for vengeance, and eclipses most others on the stage with that bit of naturalness so severely lacking in the rest of the ensemble.
Any playwright would drool over Karen Weber's starkly angular set and Claude Pensis' appropriately disturbing lighting. Connie Furr-Solomon's costumes are as unsubtle as the script demands, while Benjamin Monrad's sound design is effective and well handled.
Disappointment doesn't begin to define how I felt as I rushed from the Lyceum Friday night. I had been telling everyone how excited I was to finally experience Baldwin's work. I love satire and absurdity. But equally as important is message, a basic concept which seemed missing from Baldwin's creation. Satire for its own sake is not something I enjoy sitting through. I recognize that my opinion on this piece puts me in the minority, but it isn't the first time. If I missed something here, please feel free to explain it to me. I'd love to be wrong about these assertions.
Production Details:
ElectroPuss by Trista Baldwin
Arizona State University Department of Theatre
The Lyceum Theatre, Tempe
(480) 965-6447
March 21st - 31st, 2002