Friday, August 12, 2005
Jenny Chow Rocks, Intelligently
Last night I dragged myself through humidity worthy of a tropical jungle to the Studio Theater to see "Jenny Chow." I had not intended to see it--it sounded a bit bizarre, and I did I mention how damn hot it is? Friends of mine whose taste I do not generally share said they did not like the main character, but others (thank you, Brad Hathaway of Potomac Stages and Gary Meeker of Silver Spring) said the show was well worth seeing. I went, keeping my expectations low, knowing that the show was going to close soon (August 15, I think).
Met a friend upstairs at the Studio's Milton Theater, on their comfy sofas. I like the Studio's new renovations--it is easy to congregate and talk with people, none of whom knew much about the show. ("The play sounds odd--we know one of the actors from the Washington Ethical Society." Apparently David Rothman, who plays the father, has his own following.)
The play grabbed me from the first scene, where Jennifer Marcus, magnificently and believably played by Eunice Wong, is banging out her life, her needs and her desperate search for her creation, a robot named Jenny, to a bounty hunter on the Web. The themes of the play resonated deeply with me: a child seeking her mother, scared to grow up, and then seeking her own "daughter," the robot that fearlessly faces the world; parents trying to connect to their children; all of us using machines to find each other. Like this blog.
It's almost a one-woman show, since I almost forgot that the "robot," Jenny Chow, is not a robot, but an actress, Mia Whang. I kept hoping she would return, as parents always await their children. James Flanagan, who plays Todd the pizza guy yearning to be an archeologist, was a delightful presence, and Cameron McNary, who played five roles (four of them visible--the computerized translator was unseen, but a real presence, as technology was throughout the play) was just dazzling. I think I knew Dr. Yakunin, not at Yale, but at Oberlin--good thing he has a sense of humor.
Charlotte Akin, who plays the mother, was so alternatively frightening as the business woman and poignant as the mother trying to organize her home that another play could have been written about her.
Frankly, the play is not for everyone. The friend I was with, an engineer, was rather puzzled by the plot--to him, the play didn't end in a satisfactory way. Of course life doesn't end either--it goes on, unpredictably, and we either do or don't make it out the door every day.
I can be prudish about language, but I thought the obscenities here fit the characters well, and they were so articulate and interesting in other ways that I was liberated from feeling offended. Free at last.
I felt very lucky to have been able to just walk downtown and see a show of that caliber and novelty for 25 bucks. Do go see it before it closes next week.
Met a friend upstairs at the Studio's Milton Theater, on their comfy sofas. I like the Studio's new renovations--it is easy to congregate and talk with people, none of whom knew much about the show. ("The play sounds odd--we know one of the actors from the Washington Ethical Society." Apparently David Rothman, who plays the father, has his own following.)
The play grabbed me from the first scene, where Jennifer Marcus, magnificently and believably played by Eunice Wong, is banging out her life, her needs and her desperate search for her creation, a robot named Jenny, to a bounty hunter on the Web. The themes of the play resonated deeply with me: a child seeking her mother, scared to grow up, and then seeking her own "daughter," the robot that fearlessly faces the world; parents trying to connect to their children; all of us using machines to find each other. Like this blog.
It's almost a one-woman show, since I almost forgot that the "robot," Jenny Chow, is not a robot, but an actress, Mia Whang. I kept hoping she would return, as parents always await their children. James Flanagan, who plays Todd the pizza guy yearning to be an archeologist, was a delightful presence, and Cameron McNary, who played five roles (four of them visible--the computerized translator was unseen, but a real presence, as technology was throughout the play) was just dazzling. I think I knew Dr. Yakunin, not at Yale, but at Oberlin--good thing he has a sense of humor.
Charlotte Akin, who plays the mother, was so alternatively frightening as the business woman and poignant as the mother trying to organize her home that another play could have been written about her.
Frankly, the play is not for everyone. The friend I was with, an engineer, was rather puzzled by the plot--to him, the play didn't end in a satisfactory way. Of course life doesn't end either--it goes on, unpredictably, and we either do or don't make it out the door every day.
I can be prudish about language, but I thought the obscenities here fit the characters well, and they were so articulate and interesting in other ways that I was liberated from feeling offended. Free at last.
I felt very lucky to have been able to just walk downtown and see a show of that caliber and novelty for 25 bucks. Do go see it before it closes next week.
