Review: Palm Springs' DETC Presents a Fabulous Production of Caryl Churchill's A NUMBER

Palm Springs' Desert Ensemble Theatre Company (DETC) has scored a coup with its production of Caryl Churchill's 2002 four-character, two actor play, A NUMBER. Ms. Churchill, a British playwright whom dramatist Tony Kushner calls "the greatest living English language playwright," provides an exceptional script. Additionally, the two actors deliver superb performances, filled with nuance. The combination creates an extraordinary evening of theatre.

A NUMBER addresses the subject of human cloning. A widowed father and his son are thrown into crisis when the son discovers that someone has apparently cloned him, and there are multiple copies living in the world. The father reveals information bit by bit, only when the son asks direct questions. Not only does the son turn out to be one of the clones, but he is a copy of his naturally-conceived older brother, whom the father abandoned. Who is responsible for the ensuing tragedies - the guilty son or the father? Is cloning itself evil, good, or neutral? Which is more important, nature or nurture?

When A NUMBER premiered in London, Sir Michael Gambon (known to American audiences as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films) and Daniel Craig (yes, that Daniel Craig) played the father and sons, respectively. DETC has found worthy successors in its professional cast, Seattle-based James E. Anderson III and DETC's executive director, Shawn Abramowitz. Director Jerome Elliott told me that he and the cast changed British slang to be understandable to American audiences, and the actors perform with their own accents. Mr. Elliott, in my view, made a wise choice; by effectively moving the action to a generic United States town, he forces the audience members to acknowledge that a father who looks and sounds much like their neighbors is rejecting his son in favor of an improved version.

This play has no exposition. Instead the lights come up in the middle of a conversation, in which the son is telling the father about how, during a hospital stay, he discovered that he was apparently cloned. Mr. Anderson plays the father as having a disposition so calm that he and his son might as well have been discussing the merits of one automobile over another. At first, I disagreed with this choice because it seemed so inappropriate for the shocking facts that his son was revealing, but I shortly decided that the calmness was the right choice - the father's attitude telegraphs that the news isn't really a surprise.

As the play progresses, the father's outward tranquility becomes more and more bizarre, as he admits more and more of his horrifying acts. When the father told his first son the circumstances under which he abandoned him, and asked the son to fill in facts the father had forgotten about that day, the audience listened in what appeared to be stunned silence. By the time the father said for the final time that he intended to speak to a lawyer about the hospital's having illicitly cloned extra children, I realized that he probably had given permission, and may have even received remuneration.

Mr. Abramowitz does a superb job with his multiple characters. At first, he plays the second son as retaining his rationality despite his shock. When he later reveals anger, he does so in a voice almost as serene as his father's. The first son is full of nervous energy, his face contorted with rage and scorn, and his moves sudden and threatening. The clone who was raised as a stranger is ebullient and fulfilled; he enjoys knowing that there are others with his genetic make-up. His manner with his biological father is friendly and polite, but also reserved. Life appears to have handed this man far better circumstances than it granted the two sons.

Mr. Elliott and the actors make full use of the intimate setting, in which the audience members can see subtle changes in facial muscle positions and in posture. A lesser actor than Mr. Abramowitz would probably not be able to employ such subtleties, and would wind up playing the second son and the stranger the same way. Instead, the audience can tell from the differences in Mr. Abramowitz's expressions and body language that the two are separate people.

Mr. Elliott has chosen to eschew scenery, except for two chairs in the living room. As a practical matter, his choice avoids the technical difficulties that could arise in the low-tech Pearl McManus Theatre. However, the stark stage also perfectly complements the spare way in which the playwright tells the story.

This production is well worth seeing. Between the intriguing and horrifying script and the fine performances, DETC's audience members are likely to ponder what unfolded on stage long after the one-act, 55-minute play has ended.

The rest of the team for this production includes the company's founder, Tony Padilla, as producer, and Palm Springs High School's Thespian Troupe #6291 (Sierra Barrick, Sierra Johnson, Alexandra Mazmanian, Garo Mazmanian, and Cecilia Orosco) as the front office and technical crew.

A NUMBER will run through the weekend of February 21st, on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 each ($21.69 including service fee), plus tax. Call 760-565-2476 for tickets or more information, or consult the web site, www.detctheatre.org. (Scroll down to the bottom of the home page to find the ticket sale link).

Performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theatre, in the Palm Springs Woman's Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, (two blocks south of Palm Canyon Blvd.), in Palm Springs, California. A study guide to A NUMBER by the Pittsburgh Public Theater is available at www.ppt.org/files/file/Education%20Guides/A%20NUMBER%20(07-08)%20Resource%20Guide.pdf .

DETC's 2015-16 season continues with:

Tony Padilla's LOOK AT ME, March 11-13 and March 18-20, 2016. The playwright, who is DETC's founder and producing artistic director, directs the world premiere of his dark comedy that examines how the speed of social media affects family dynamics.

Joshua Harmon's BAD JEWS, April 8-10, 15-17, 2016. This biting comedy - an off-Broadway hit in 2013 - explores family, faith, and what being "chosen" means to different people.

Photo Credit: Jerome Elliott

To post a comment, you must register and login.