BWW Reviews: Off the Wall Shines GOD OF CARNAGE in Combative and Comedic Light

Milwaukee's Off the Wall Theatre stages a pared down production of a 2009 Tony Award winning play--God of Carnage. Yasmina Reza originally wrote the script in French, which Christopher Hampton then translated for British and American audiences, a popular production until this day. The four person cast streamlines the performance to two sets of parents attempting to reconcile their sons after a physical playground incident knocks "two incisors" from one of the boy's mouth.

The word combative succintly defines the motivation between these two boys and the production, although the two pairs of parents--the Novaks and Raleighs--pretend to be civilized and cultured. Apparently Benjamin Raleigh hit Henry Novak in the face because Henry refused to let Benjamin join his playground gang, and then Benjamin called Henry a snitch. Events which unfolded in an upscale New York neighborhood called Cobblestone Park where the small scale event translates the incident into greater domestic and contemporary issues through Reza's script.

While the sparse but effective scenic backdrop courtesy of David Roper resembles an ancient cave painting that revisits human evolution, the parents in Reza's play devolve into primitive human beings, often switching their loyalties from couple versus couple, to husbands against wives in these increasingly combative scenes. Marriages continue to dissolve on stage when the couples share vintage rum, while Alan Raleigh ceaselessly receives cellphone calls regarding an on the market drug with serious side effects, another kind of scientific carnage, that the pharmaceutical company hides from the public.

A high earning corporate attorney, Alan works from his cellphone to monitor damage control for the company. However, the play's subtext regarding the cellphone almost becomes superficial because smart phones in six years have evolved as well, into tiny computers, where everyone use them continually. Recent statistics show the average under 30-aged person goes into withdrawal after being away from their device more than 10 minutes.

OTWT's Associate Director Jeremy C. Welter production directs and gives the contentious Alan (dressed in a Burberry Trench coat and scarf) who "affectionately" calls his wife Annette "Woof Woof" a believable edge. His fast paced direction leaves little room for Annette's Donna Lobacz to show her ferocity until after she unleashes her own feminine neanderthal instincts as the evening wears on.

The salesman Michael Nowak changes personalities quickly through the voice of Max Williamson while Michelle White casts his wife Veronica with a faux cultured aura as a writer who recently completed a book on Dafour's (Sudan, Africa) contemptible genocide during the country's revolution. A theme which allows the Gods of Carnage to shine their full light -Where the Novaks and Raleighs end up turning savage over the discussion of their domestic life, their sons, and politics to the point where Veronica physically assaults Michael, and Annette keeps heaving in plastic bowl she carries with her in the apartment.

With the action and dialogue directed by Welter in comedy skit style, there's fun to be had in numerous moments throughout the production. By the end of this no-intermission, hour-plus performance, the icons of culture, art books, gourmet apple and pear Clafouti and blooming tulips end up destroyed on the floor, courtesy of the Novaks and Raleighs, the reconcilliation of their two sons lost in the couples' selfishness. The dramedy pitches plenty of combative laughs and intellectual punches to the audience, although the relationship between each couple might be sharpened with additional chemistry during such a short time frame.

OTWT's God of Carnage entertains with plenty of ammunition to reflect on how much the trappings of culture redeem or merely constrain society's primitive instincts, when humans fight for their own survival instead of coexisting together to sacrifice for a community's greater good. Ultimately, the audience might also ask when will the world stop continually reverting to their primordial beginnings as Reza, and often contemporary events, clearly demonstrate.

Off the Wall Theatre presents Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage through March 1 before the production of Odyssey: A Warrior's Journey Home beginning April 1. Photo depticts Jeremy C. Welter in suit and tie, and Max Williamson in sweater. For more information on either production, please call 414.484.8874 or www.offthewalltheatre.com

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