Review: Theatre Schmeater's Toast TWILIGHT ZONE: LIVE! Turns Twenty-Four, Still Got It

It's that time of the year again! Theatre Schmeater's "Twilight Zone: Live!" celebrates its 24th birthday with three culturally pertinent episode adaptations. As a first timer with high expectations, the first few moments seeing my beloved Twilight Zone in color were jarring. This passes. In this perfect homage that clearly expresses reverence with just the right sprinkling of poking-fun, "Twilight Zone: Live!" is a cozy, kooky production that continues to be as timeless as infinity.

This year, the three episodes may make you want to believe that they were chosen specifically to challenge or critique the current political climate, but the three episodes were selected months ago. But art does not exist in a vacuum, and they happen to be especially poignant. The first, "The Monster on Maple Street", has every neighbor on Maple Street at each other's throats in no time in this alien witch-hunt. After community members spot an unidentified flying object soar over their sleepy, little neighborhood, the power in their houses mysteriously shuts off. These people are so desperate for answers that they'll believe the little boy's comic book theory. Finger pointing and self-destruction ensue.

The second episode, "The Night of the Meek," has a much more optimistic feeling to it. This episode is one of those Twilight Zone episodes that isn't so much about making you think or get overly suspicious about your neighbor's behavior, but is an episode that makes you think anything is possible. In "The Night of the Meek," a downtrodden Santa wants to feel the joy of Christmas again. He drinks so he "doesn't weep." Through the course of the episode, this Santa's dismal fate upturns in a very sweet way.

The final episode, "The Shelter," goes back to making you get self-reflexive. A panic-stricken friend group has its members turn against one another when they find out that their lives may be in danger. What started as a lovely evening meant to celebrate Dr. Grace Stockton transformed into the group's worst nightmare. As the only prepared person in the group that actually built a bomb shelter, the doctor must decide if she wants to save any of her friends (given their limited space and resources), or if she wants to save her family. I won't spoil the ending (though it did first air decades ago), but there is a battering ram involved.

There are a few fun twists to these live adaptations that alter from the television series. In almost every way, Harry Todd Jamieson's direction stayed very true to the format, tone, and aesthetic from the mid-century television series. The Schmee did decide to flip the script in a couple of cases by switching the genders of a few characters. This could be for convenience, or it could be for modernizing the show (The Twilight Zone was guilty of providing many more roles to men). For example, the doctor in the Schmee's "The Shelter" was played by a woman, (Susanna Burney), and her husband (Mike Dooley) was the one to think of their child when the doctor asked what should they live for. Originally, Mrs. Dundee in "The Night of the Meek" was a Mr. Dundee, which added some sexual tension between Mr. Dundee and the police officer that wasn't in the original episode. The bartender in "The Meek", Babs (Sharon Barto Gouran) was originally Bruce. The gender swapping did not draw attention to itself, nor did it ever feel forced.

Like the television show, there was nothing flashy or fussy about the set design. With a few props and three wooden panels, set designer Kasia Rozanska captured the simpler times of yesteryear. I especially liked what Rozanska did with the elegant, pattered black and white backdrops, so it's clear that they tried to recreate the achromatic reference. To paint the characters and commit to an entirely black and white production would be very difficult, but it reminded me that this show is far from the original television series.

The best acting by far was in "The Night of the Meek." Mike Dooly's drunk with a heart of gold Henry Corwin stands alone as a performance while also tipping the hat to Art Carney's Henry Corwin from the 1960 episode. It was heart-breaking, heart-warming, and gave the episode an emotional depth that most Twilight Zone episodes don't have. Though Dooly transcended the mid-Atlantic accent and made his character complex (rather than cartoonish). Jocelyn Maher's Mrs. Dundee was also quite fun to watch. Lauryn Rilla Hochberg's Faye Goodman in "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street", though minor, packed a punch in her comedic timing. And what would the show be without its own Rod Serling, and Curtis Eastwood looks like he could be Serling's son. There was something a hair too Party City Mobster about the costume, but hey, it is the dimension of the imagination.

What The Schmee does year after year so perfectly is honor a loved television show with a night that feels more like a toast to The Twilight Zone, rather than trying to improve it. The only difference between watching the television show and watching the Schmee's live adaptation is the medium. "Twilight Zone: Live!" is a toast that will satisfy fans. For it being exactly what it can and should be, but without blowing my mind, I give Theatre Schmeater's very fun homage "Twilight Zone: Live!" 4/5 stars. It won't change your life, or make you cry, or even make you think that hard, but, jeepers, is it entertaining.

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