Post-apocalypse now at Laurel Mill
In futuristic comedy by APL physicist, androids revive the humans
The creative energy that transports theatergoers to alternate realities is pulsing inside the Laurel Mill Playhouse, where the post-apocalyptic comedy “Another Door Opens,” by local playwright Jeff Dunne, is scheduled for a 2 p.m. matinee performance Sunday.
A physicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory by day, Dunne finished rewrites of the sci-fi script in 2016. It was performed as a stage reading by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival the following year, and Black Carpet Productions, a Washington-based production company, has a film version in the works.
Dunne, who started out penning children’s plays for the APL Drama Club in 2015, already has numerous one-act and five full-length plays and several screenplays under his belt.
Produced here by Maureen Rogers and directed by Rick Bergmann, the script blends an unusual mix of comedic devices and references inspired by mathematics and technology, history, psychology, classic literature and 1950s American television in a tale about an artificial intelligence and two androids attempting to resurrect human life post-nuclear annihilation.
A.L.I.C.E. — or Artificial Life In A Computational Environment — is portrayed by Jane Steffen, and aims to run a human breeding program on a planet that she has accidentally destroyed. Steffen delivers a savvy performance in the role, gradually sounding less like Amazon’s Alexa in Act 1 and almost human by play’s end.
Dunne modeled A.L.I.C.E.’s sidekick, the android Ralph, played by Rasheed Williams, after the brash personality of Jackie Gleason’s iconic New York bus driver Ralph Kramden on the classic TV sitcom, “The Honeymooners.” An inside joke is that Gleason’s wife’s character was named, you guessed it: Alice.
Costumed as the bus driver, Williams is eautifully bombastic and handles some hallenging moments with delightful facial xpressions and excellent physicality.
A.L.I.C.E.’s other android helper, Whitey, played by Raven T. Hall, is the nervous hite Rabbit from “Alice in Wonderland” n costume and in character. Hall’s consisently frenetic movements, hilarious panomime and brisk pace suit her character nd the plot to a tee.
As the lights rise on a dingy grunge set esigned by Bermann, Gary Heath and rittany Ramsbottom that represents a ecayed shelter, radiation warning symbols n the black walls appear to have begun to elt sometime in the past.
Under A.L.I.C.E.’s supervision, Ralph and hitney are engaged in reviving Patient 49,374. Paul Hastings, played by Ken Krintz, is an architect who has been in cryostasis sleep for almost 25,000 years.
Krintz presents a handsome and likable hero who remembers the nuclear explosions that made the earth uninhabitable, and especially what it means to be human.
And though the actor’s timing felt a bit off opening night, it detracted little from a striking performance.
The second human to enter, Abbey, is the ditsy but “not blonde” accountant who wises up by play’s end. Portrayed by Beth Bell, she also nails her character with wonderful energy.
Kenneth, portrayed by Kevin A. Wilson, suffers from multiple personality disorder, and summons Xena the warrior princess, Sherlock Holmes and an over-sexed, gender-indeterminate personality at unexpected moments in a fun role that allows the actor to strut an impressive acting range.
Last, but hardly least, is Ruby, played by Ramsbottom as a bitter computer hacker who engages in a rebellion with A.L.I.C.E. that reeks of mommy issues on steroids. Her tattered goth costume is outstanding, and her performance — particularly when she puts her survival at peril by defying A.L.I.C.E. — stands out.
“Another Door Opens” will be performed at 2 p.m. Sunday at Laurel Mill Playhouse, 508 Main St. General admission is $20; $15 for students 12 and younger and seniors 65 and older. Information: laurelmillplayhouse.org.
A physicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory by day, Dunne finished rewrites of the sci-fi script in 2016. It was performed as a stage reading by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival the following year, and Black Carpet Productions, a Washington-based production company, has a film version in the works.
Dunne, who started out penning children’s plays for the APL Drama Club in 2015, already has numerous one-act and five full-length plays and several screenplays under his belt.
Produced here by Maureen Rogers and directed by Rick Bergmann, the script blends an unusual mix of comedic devices and references inspired by mathematics and technology, history, psychology, classic literature and 1950s American television in a tale about an artificial intelligence and two androids attempting to resurrect human life post-nuclear annihilation.
A.L.I.C.E. — or Artificial Life In A Computational Environment — is portrayed by Jane Steffen, and aims to run a human breeding program on a planet that she has accidentally destroyed. Steffen delivers a savvy performance in the role, gradually sounding less like Amazon’s Alexa in Act 1 and almost human by play’s end.
Dunne modeled A.L.I.C.E.’s sidekick, the android Ralph, played by Rasheed Williams, after the brash personality of Jackie Gleason’s iconic New York bus driver Ralph Kramden on the classic TV sitcom, “The Honeymooners.” An inside joke is that Gleason’s wife’s character was named, you guessed it: Alice.
Costumed as the bus driver, Williams is eautifully bombastic and handles some hallenging moments with delightful facial xpressions and excellent physicality.
A.L.I.C.E.’s other android helper, Whitey, played by Raven T. Hall, is the nervous hite Rabbit from “Alice in Wonderland” n costume and in character. Hall’s consisently frenetic movements, hilarious panomime and brisk pace suit her character nd the plot to a tee.
As the lights rise on a dingy grunge set esigned by Bermann, Gary Heath and rittany Ramsbottom that represents a ecayed shelter, radiation warning symbols n the black walls appear to have begun to elt sometime in the past.
Under A.L.I.C.E.’s supervision, Ralph and hitney are engaged in reviving Patient 49,374. Paul Hastings, played by Ken Krintz, is an architect who has been in cryostasis sleep for almost 25,000 years.
Krintz presents a handsome and likable hero who remembers the nuclear explosions that made the earth uninhabitable, and especially what it means to be human.
And though the actor’s timing felt a bit off opening night, it detracted little from a striking performance.
The second human to enter, Abbey, is the ditsy but “not blonde” accountant who wises up by play’s end. Portrayed by Beth Bell, she also nails her character with wonderful energy.
Kenneth, portrayed by Kevin A. Wilson, suffers from multiple personality disorder, and summons Xena the warrior princess, Sherlock Holmes and an over-sexed, gender-indeterminate personality at unexpected moments in a fun role that allows the actor to strut an impressive acting range.
Last, but hardly least, is Ruby, played by Ramsbottom as a bitter computer hacker who engages in a rebellion with A.L.I.C.E. that reeks of mommy issues on steroids. Her tattered goth costume is outstanding, and her performance — particularly when she puts her survival at peril by defying A.L.I.C.E. — stands out.
“Another Door Opens” will be performed at 2 p.m. Sunday at Laurel Mill Playhouse, 508 Main St. General admission is $20; $15 for students 12 and younger and seniors 65 and older. Information: laurelmillplayhouse.org.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
