SFPlayhouse's 'WIREHEAD' is Mind-Blowing, Now Thru April 23rd

The SF Playhouse on Sutter Street in downtown San Francisco stands mid-block in an unassuming spot wedged between a shop with a huge vacant sign in the window and a mani-pedi boutique flashing its neon siren call to come in. If you eschew that summons and instead climb the stairs to the small, slightly shabby SF Playhouse lobby -- there to await the true call to self-care known as theater -- you will be immensely glad that you did.  Playing now through Saturday, Wirehead is a highly entertaining, intellectually stimulating, dark comedy with a sci-fi, mind-bending "tweakiness" that will leave you stunned and wondering about our collective, technological future.

Matthew Benjamin and Logan Brown have written a riveting piece, with razor-sharp dialogue and engaging characters who deal with life, love and the potential for unlimited potential!  Although there are some inconsistencies in the story, they're minor and don't detract from the overall arc of the play which centers on a newly available (for those who can afford it), experimental brain implant that takes genius to a whole new level. 

The narrative is placed cleverly in the hands of a shock jock named RIP (delightfully coarse Scott Coopwood) who sits high above the action in a sound booth where he gives blow-by-blow details on how the world is reacting to Syntel's Z-Drive brain implant. 

Below the sound booth, we meet friends and business colleagues Adams (Craig Marker) and Destry (Gabriel Marin) as they get squeezed out of an account by a junior exec named Hammy (Cole Alexander Smith) who just got the brain implant.  "Hammy doesn't even have his MBA.  Apparently irrelevant," says Destry in a fit of frustrated rage.

Marker co-stars as the ethically confused Adams who is easily persuaded by his angry and paranoid best friend Destry to engage in some horrible acts all in the name of humanity.  Gabriel Marin is brilliant as the hard-edged Destry, who brings an authenticity and credibility to the role that makes the macabre seem mundane and necessary in a world turned upside down by this new brainwave.  He doesn't believe that anything good can come from being "wired," and sets out to rid the world of the implants. 

Cole Alexander Smith (who plays the rest of the male characters and is quite good at all three) is joined by Madeline Brown (playing snobby fashion designer, Monyca) and Lauren Grace ("rich girl" Laura) who are Adams and Destry's girlfriends.   Through Laura's hopeful eyes, we see the positive potential of being wired. 

The imaginative and moveable set by scenic artist Ewa Muszynska is complimented and enhanced by Jon Retsky's lighting design whose projection of neural connectors against the metallic silver-blue walls at the beginning of the show set the stage very well.  Sound designer Steve Schoenbeck provides the play with creative sound effects and his timing is impeccable, making the rapid give-and-take between shock-jock RIP and his call-in guests seamless. Director Susi Damilano's vision and talent provide the overall cohesiveness and believability of the show and take it over the top.

As pressure mounts between the "wireheads" and the unwired masses Laura tries to convince Adams that humans will be able to reach their full potential by being wired, though there are those who will never be able to qualify for the implant.  He worries about those who don't qualify, in part because he's one of them. "It's our nature to prey on the weak," he says.  To which she responds, "If everyone is wired then the world will be at peace.  They'll all get smarter and better."  Adams shakes his head and says, "Smarter but not better."  Playwrights Benjamin and Brown leave that question open-ended in the stunning conclusion of Wirehead.  Make plans to see it now.

Note: Plans are in the works for SF Playhouse to move to a Union Square location that seats two hundred theatergoers.  For more information contact  www.sfplayhouse.org.

Wirehead is playing now thru April 23, 2011

www.sfplayhouse.org

Bill English, artistic director

Admin & tickets: 415.677.9596   

 Fax: 415.677.9597

Photos courtesy of Jessica Palopoli

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