SINKING SHIP SAILS IN UNCHARTERED WATERS
My favorite element in Powerhouse, a delightful new devised play created by director Jon Levin, writer Josh Luxenberg and the Sinking Ship Ensemble, is the puppets: a cantankerous booby and a good-natured otter. The booby makes its first appearance when three 1940’s TV writers are brainstorming without success. Frustrated, they crumple a bunch of paper together and out of this bunch, as if spontaneously, the flightless bird is fashioned. It’s a magical transformation and one of many wonderful inventions in this breathless bio-drama of the brilliant musician, composer, conductor, inventor, innovator and absent-minded-professor-type Raymond Scott (an endearing Erik Lochtefeld).
On second thought, calling Powerhouse a bio-drama, which for me has so many negative connotations—tedious, dull, conventional, agenda-driven, impersonal—doesn’t evoke an accurate picture of this thoroughly theatrical fantasia. We see swing dancing and jazz; are shown the Electronium, Scott’s electronic music generator; hear him describe a future in which people will be able to transmit music telepathically; we see a girl floating in outer space after a Twinkie in a theatricalization of a 1950’s TV commercial; observe a relationship crumble in a rapid series of phone calls; and watch a stroke begin with drawers opening autonomously in the victim’s cabinet and end with a cartoon character bonking the victim in the head with an oversized mallet.
With minimal props, Sinking Ship Ensemble creates a rich and fascinating world. And the outstanding choreography, executed with a precision that seems effortless, gives Powerhouse, named after one of Scott’s more famous compositions, the feeling of being one fantastic organism, free-forming and lovely. While I would have preferred the drama to be just a bit crisper, this does little to detract from the pleasure of watching a remarkable production.
The excellent Sinking Ship Ensemble cast includes: Jessica Frey, Hanley Smith, Tyler Bunch, Spencer Lott, Eric Wright, and Clare McNulty.
photos by Justin Khalifa
Powerhouse
Sinking Ship Productions
New Ohio Theatre, 154 Christopher St.
Tues – Sat at 8; Sun at 3
scheduled to end on November 23, 2014
for tickets, call 888-596-1027
or visit www.Powerhouse-ThePlay.com
