Review: 5 By Jucoby Johnson at Jungle Theater

Have you ever wondered what the background characters are doing, while scientists and action heroes are racing against time, when they realize the apocalypse is upon us? It could be argued that 5, now playing at Jungle Theater in collaboration with Trademark Theater, poses an answer to that question.

Set in a street corner convenience store, surrounded by developers attempting to renovate and reinvigorate a seemingly worn down area, 5 tells the story of Jay and Evan, two life long friends who have inherited their fathers' life work. Although the store seems to be struggling, they hold out hope that times will change and they will recapture the magic that the store once held. When a developer approaches them about selling the lot and setting up a new store that is more "neutral" to the clientele that they hope to attract, a rift between Jay and Evan begins to form. As they come to blows about their differing opinions, they build to a confrontation that may not spell disaster just for themselves, but also the world.

5 is certainly a passion project for Jucoby Johnson having worked on it for many years, while also taking on a leading role. It is clear that a lot of care was taken when crafting this piece of theatre, as it speaks both, to the changing neighborhood narrative and to those who discuss what the end of the world could look like, if we were to see it in our lifetime.

When the story focuses on the relationships between Jay, Evan, and developer Stacy, it is difficult who to focus on because all three actors (Jucoby Johnson, Eric Hagen, and Dana-Lee Thompson respectively) bring such strong emotion to their roles. Johnson's portrayal of Jay feels deeply personal, which is not hard to believe because he knows exactly how the words should be spoken, as he wrote them. One minute the audience is ready to strangle him for not seeing what an opportunity he has in front of him and the next we want to give him a hug to assure him that although change is hard it will all work out in the end, or so the audience hopes.

Eric Hagen's Evan is a heartbreaking mess, torn between his sworn duty to his best friend and what their fathers created together and his own desires to forge a solid path forward with Jay by his side. There is never a moment when the audience is lead to believe that Evan's intentions are anything but noble, due to Hagen's genuine dedication to the role. It is in these moments that we are reminded that some decisions in life, even those done with the best intentions, can have devastating affects.

The strongest moments of 5 are when the story focuses on those surrounding Jay, Evan and their future with the store. It is when the apocalyptic elements are brought into play that it begins to tread on shaky ground (no pun intended). Throughout the production, the audience is thrown a few curve balls that don't quite seem to fit in this ball game.

The apocalyptic elements read more like a haunting (boxes falling off shelves, items falling out of the fridge, etc) and less like a precursor to the end of the world. The effects and lighting used in these instances are very well done but it felt as though we were seeing two different stories play out and then mashed together.

It was most evident when an "event" would occur that affected multiple members of the cast but they would never acknowledge it, they would simply jump right back into the conversation that was being had and move on. As the production progressed, the "events" seemed to become less frequent, to the point where it seemed like the apocalypse would never come, which begs the question: was the apocalypse storyline always part of the narrative?

It should be noted that experimental theatre is some of the best theatre, new talent must be nurtured and new works deserve their time in the spotlight. Although it may seem like there are some kinks in the story now, that does not mean that 5's journey is over. Changes can be made, storylines can be fleshed out, and more "events" could be added. There is no doubt that more theaters will produce 5 and Jucoby Johnson will have many more stories to tell and when that happens, those in attendance, myself included, will be lucky to see an up and coming playwright's new work shine.

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