The Danube by Weird in Public Productions

Content Heads Up: Plague, Coughing, Disability, Asylums, War, Death, Dark Comedy

Unfortunately, this was only a two night event, but if you’d been looking for something to do on April 21 & 22, you could have done worse than make a night of chowing down at Zakia’s before heading to The Crane for the a showing of Weird in Public Production’s The Danube.

It’s advertised at a 60 minute run time, but between the addition of a short one-act written by the director that starts off the event and some slow pacing, the show times out at about 80 minutes. Maria Irene Fornés’s The Danube is an avant-garde one-act play about plague, war, and pollution in which a young man from America falls in love and lives in Budapest for a time. The piece is framed throughout by language lessons that dictate not only the structure and content of conversation, but also create an absurdist arc to the growing chaos.

Overall, this was a piece put together by a young company with a fresh out of school vibe. The choice of text feels like an attempt to address our current moment–chaos, pollution, plague, war, and trying to be an American in a global world. Unfortunately, the arc of the narrative falls somewhat flat as the scenes end up feeling very disconnected. 

The cast really shines in the comedic moments of the script. Fornés’ text uses basic language learning conversations to frame complex emotions and when the cast times the irony right, it is magical. The epitome of this is the tonal shift and commitment in the puppet scenes toward the end of the show. Gold. 

Gabriel Maxwell shines at this in particular. His focused seriousness and comedic movement were delightful to watch; while he struggles to cut hair, very seriously places a box to be smashed, or drags a chair offstage during a transition.

Zach Sain also gives a solid turn with Mr. Sandor. His pacing and handling of lines struck a satisfying note between full naturalism and mimicking the language tapes. I felt conspiratorially invited by his offers of cigarettes. 

Gabi Jones and Diego Symouksavanh lead the cast as Eve and Paul Greene. While they don’t have much chemistry, Jones does possess a distinct Mid-Atlantic poise that gestures effectively back to 40’s film stars. Symouksavanh is at his best in this role when he is brimming with optimism. 

The direction is exuberant but inexperienced. The movement and rhythm of the show is rather opaque and uneven, with the humor being surprising and then disappearing tonally in ways that make you wonder if it was a mistake rather than the poignant thrust of the script. Conflict moments like fighting over a gun or falling to the ground are sudden and chaotic, without much build or connection. That said, the use of the arch to create the puppet show and the choice to heighten the puppet show scenes in style is very effective, as were the transitions which continued and developed character movement and tone in captivating ways. This reviewer wishes that Bryant had trusted the absurdist comedy more and leaned into the heightened nature of the piece. Hopefully, Bryant will continue developing his skills and we’ll see that in future work.

The lighting had some very effective moments of stylized spotlights and emphasis, but this reviewer wishes that there had been more stylized lighting especially as the script is so intensely stylized. More stylized lighting would have helped place the tone of the piece more clearly beyond realism. Additionally, while smoke likely isn’t possible in the Crane’s studio theater, Fornés’s script calls for smoke coming up at four corners of the performance platform to conclude each scene, and this reviewer missed that.

Mia Schoenbeck’s costume design is fun–with Paul appearing in a powder blue suit and Eve in a very pretty dark blue 90’s style sundress. The break between Paul as an American and the subdued colors and suits of the Hungarian characters is highlighted effectively; and Paul’s costume change into darker colors over the course of the show is one of the clearest arcs. 

The sound was on the quiet side, so, if you’re hard of hearing, sit near the house-left corner of the seats. 

You Should See This If: You enjoy supporting emerging artists, and if you appreciate absurdist/avant-garde theater. 

2.5/5 Scones

Review by Cheddar&Chive