Center
Stage with Pat Launer on KSDS JAZZ88
THEATRE
REVIEW
“Drink Me, or the Strange Case of
AIRDATE: SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
It’s
a bona fide female fantasy. I don’t think there’s a woman alive who hasn’t at
one time or another wished all men would just disappear. And that’s just what
happens in “Drink Me, or The Strange Case of Alice Times Three.” A
political/historical/feminist riff on ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ an homage to noir
detectives and English murder mysteries, the deliciously dark comedy is set in
modern-day London, where men are going missing by the thousands. At first, it’s
just the vagrants and homeless. But then, the horror extends – into the best of
homes.
Chief
Inspector Fossmire is on the case. But it leads him
in some pretty surprising directions, including right back to his own doorstep.
I can’t give too much away – it is a mystery, after all – but factor in a
distraught anthropologist, a troubled psychologist, and three weird sisters who
speak in arcane, antiquated English and express themselves by singing nursery
rhymes. Then there’s Fossie’s own mother, a titled
aristocrat who has some off-the-wall philosophies, and a few bleak secrets in
her past.
Plenty
of witchy women on hand, with more than a little black magic and goddess
worship. Fossie is mystified, even unnerved. And he
also seems to be oddly protected. It all comes out in the end, though I
wouldn’t exactly call it a happy wrap-up.
This
is the second play produced by Moxie Theatre that’s written by Mary Fengar Gail, who has a penchant for strong, forthright
women who take control, not always with positive outcomes. Gail likes to toss
in a bit of the whimsical, fantastical or other-worldly. Think of it as magical
realism, which makes her work delightfully quirky, offbeat and unpredictable.
Moxie seems to be in perfect synch with her sensibilities.
This
West coast premiere marks the beginning of Moxie’s residency at the La Jolla
Playhouse, and the technical capabilities that makes available definitely ramp
up the production values. The set is a bi-level affair flanked by winding
staircases, lit in sepia tones. Furniture glides effortlessly on and off. And
there are boatloads of buttons, which are the only thing left when the victims
vanish.
It’s
great fun, if a little chilling in its undertone. Moxie co-founders and
co-directors Delicia Turner Sonnenberg and Jennifer Eve Thorn have created a
thoroughly enchanting production, with a superb ensemble. Those triplets are
especially unforgettable – eternally entwined, infantile and dangerous.
Tantalizing, titillating and cheerfully wicked.
Beneath
the cheeky exuberance, there’s plenty to ponder here, about female power, the
occult and overpopulation.
Come
with an open mind, ready to be amused, entertained and unsettled. This is a
strange case, indeed.
“Drink
Me, or The Strange Case Of
©2009 PAT LAUNER