BWW Reviews: The Aptly Titled THE IDIOT BOX - Not Quite Ready for PrimeTime
By: Gil Kaan Jun. 01, 2015
The Idiot Box/written by Michael Elyanow/directed by Rick Shaw/The NoHo Arts Center/thru June 27, 2015
This very black comedy, The Idiot Box written by Michael Elyanow completely went over this critic's head as laughter never escaped from his mouth. (OK, maybe once.) Scenes in which the actors obviously went for the laughs, punctuated by the cheesy canned laughtracks fell flat. However, scenes played for straight-up dramatics killed.
The usually effective director Rick Shaw (the fast-paced, hysterical It's Just Sex) guides his ten actors and actresses of assorted acting techniques through a series of extreme genres (slapstick, over-the-top dramatics, and realism) in this two-hour, nonsensical mishmash of six grown-up roommates (think NBC's hit Friends) and their assorted in-house and outside relationships. Mark (a credibly crazy Jordan Wall) has inherited his parents' penthouse and now has five of his closest friends sharing it with him rent-free. (James Logan's very detailed, lived-in living room set reads more low-rent than penthouse nevertheless.)
Julie Dolan as Chloe and Jonte LeGras as Omar (the fellow Chekov aficionado that follows her home) perform some of the best two-person scenes in The Idiot Box. Their awkward 'first date' sitting on her couch - very nice!
Erin Poland as Fiona and Carlos J Castillo as Harvey (her new boyfriend with a feeding fetish) click so sweetly on their subway ride.
AJ Brody as Raymona (whom Carlo Samame's Billy hooks up with) effectively portrays his alter ego Raymond with strength and vulnerability. The character "Raymona," however, comes off as the butt of a cliché joke whose sole purpose seems to have audience laugh at Brody in a dress. Plus, with Brody's buff quarterback physique, Samame's Billy must have been completely drunk out of his gourd not to have a sliver of a clue as to Raymona's actual gender.
Married couple Stephanie (Emma Servant-very convincing in her manic phone monologue) and Connor (Grey Rodriguez) have their not-so-private relationship hurdles to deal with - her writer's block; her gift of a man-hating puppy to Connor; their inabilities to be honest with each other in not wanting to hurt each other's feelings; and Connor's sudden dependence on "Dog Shoosherer" Veronica (played by Shelly Hacco with an interesting Aussie (?) accent).
One glaring continuity issue-- although the gravity of discovering the stinking carcass of a dead animal receives its deserved disgusted reaction from all; for some reason, the putrid smell and its source seem magically forgotten.
Funny, even with an audience papered with cast's well-wishers on opening night, audience response was fairly quiet. Most ironic line of Elyanow's script-- in response to Chloe's complaint of insomnia, one of her roommates suggests, "Wanna go to sleep? Go see a play." A lady in a front row center seat did just that!
At its core, a possibly strong piece on realistic relationships could be honed. With all the 'comedy,' let The Groundlings Troupe tackle this piece. Would be hysterical!
Kudos to all involved for their commitment in getting this on stage. This experimental work-in-progress, unfortunately, under the new Equity ruling would never seen by Los Angeles theatre goers.
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