“God of Carnage” at Performing Artist Collective Alliance
A Theater Review
I appreciate the Performing Artists Collective Alliance and the theatrical productions it offers.
I really do. Rather than most Erie theaters that seem to only offer Hollywood movies-turned-plays or sure bets like Guys and Dolls,
PACA instead finds shows that are different and unique, something you wouldn’t see at an established local theater here, perhaps only at a college production.
Such is the case with their current production, God of Carnage.
Written by Yasmina Reza, the 2009 Tony Award-winning show concerns a summit between two pairs of parents to discuss an incident between their children, one of which struck the other in the face, breaking two teeth.
As the play progresses, the audience witnesses the slow meltdown of amiability between the quartet when it comes to discussing and finding a solution that satisfies all four– especially as other issues arise between marrieds Michael and Veronica (Daniel Stripp, Kate Neubert Lechner) and Alan and Annette (Josiah Prittie and Nora Schillinger).
In vino veritas? More like rum. When the booze starts to flow, civility evaporates even more and fractures between both marriages appear.
Whether it’s Michael the lawyer, slave to the ringing of his incessant cell phone, a missing child’s pet or issues in Africa, marital unity frays wherein the husbands or wives side with each other or—criss-cross—husbands or wives of opposite marriages bond over a point of view.
The one-act comedy, directed by Mark Tanenbaum, is aptly performed by Stripp, Neubert Lechner, Prittie and Schillinger, who all demonstrate the facade of civility that most people wear daily—but can easily abandon under stress of the moment or Demon Rum’s influence.
Carnage not only offers a double shot of tete-a-tetes, its playbill also provides a recipe for clafouti, a yummy-sounding French dessert that’s eaten by the parents during their initial sit down.
Who’d guess that after 90 minutes of civil talk-turned- verbal-exorcism that bares each character’s soul, that attendees would leave with a scrumptious recipe as a lagniappe?
***Gregory Greenleaf
God of Carnage continues through February 2. For more information visit www.paca1505.org
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