Theater Reviews + Features | Pittsburgh City Paper: Throughline Theatre Company takes an absurdist look at protecting the environment with its latest production, Saving the World, by Jason Burkett.
Without spoiling too much, it's a play-within-a-play in which the actors run amok as the fictional playwright (also named "Jason Burkett") totally loses control of his opus.
It's wacky and zany. And when the real Burkett is at his best, the play has flashes of brilliance (like the recurrent references to a particular make of automobile). But at other times, it is reduced to sophomoric humor, as when one actor is senselessly beaten by a stage-crew member wielding a large pool float.
1 comment:
I dislike most of the more modern plays, and this is actually one of the reasons why. Half the time it seems like the authors are trying too hard to make a joke instead of letting it flow with the characters. Plus, why would the author put himself in a show as a character? That is just ridiculous; don't put yourself in a show. I'm sure that Jason Burkett has some deep meaning in the show that is entirely missed, or at least I hope there is. There are times when stopping at a one act show are okay, and it sounds like this is one of those times. I wonder if someone took the script and revised it to be only one act, would it get any better? Of course, I don't know how the show is performed. If it is staged like Noises Off, then you need both acts. Modern playwrights need to put more effort into forming their plays. There is nothing wrong with having a preview night and then taking the script and revising it before actually trying to sell tickets to it.
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