Theater
review: Everyman mocked in revealing play,
'Panama'
Courtesy
of Keith Ian Polakoff
By
Lauren Nelson
On-line Forty-Niner
"Panama"
emerges from something other than life
as we know it. This play is an honest
attack on the lives, values and mental
state of everyone. Mocking age, religion,
success and death, "Panama,"
Cal Rep's new play now playing at the
Edison Theater, takes the audience on
a twisted and cruel look at reality in
a virtual way.
Audiences
will laugh at the comedic performances
of the stereotypical characters: Man,
Wife, Young Man, Young Woman, Grandma,
Grandpa, Jesus and Everyone Else.
Man
becomes obsessed with living forever while
his wife is equally obsessed with sitting
down at tea to talk about the absolute
unimportant things in life such as real
estate and the weather.
On
the way to their wacky grandparents' house
the couple picks up "two young people
hitchhiking" who want to change the
world with computer animation.
With
the conservative wife in the passenger
seat and the liberal hitchhikers making
out in the backseat, Man goes on a wild
journey to find the key to eternal life.
With
the guest appearance of Jesus Christ and
a Matrix-like agent Hollywood director,
the characters face challenges between
each other and the outside world.
With
one of the smallest cast that Cal Rep
has produced, "Panama" came
through as one of the most entertaining
and thought provoking performances yet.
This cartoon version of American life
challenges its audience to examine their
own lives and mocks what they consider
to be of valuable and important.
Director
Jim Anzid does a superb job making audiences
connect to the satirical characters and
their struggles. In a make-believe Disneyland,
where life is just so grand, the actors
synchronized in a beautifully way, making
the audience feel the cheesy music and
the lackadaisical eerie feeling of the
slow motion.
Craig
Flemming, who masters his character, Man,
parades around like a child on steroids
and goes through a mid-life crisis.
After all of the build-up, there is a
scene in which Man pleads for his life
and cries out, 'I don't want to die.'
At
that extreme moment, the audience realizes
the honest fear that this Man has of dying.
For that brief second, with the noticeable
tear on his face, the audience is captured.
"Panama"
is a unique experience that will be enjoyed
by anyone who dares to question society's
idea of success, freedom and life. The
controversial Jesus and the use of strong
language along with sexual references
may offend some theatergoers.
