THE SPIN IS A SPECTACULAR
SPARKLING SPUNKY EXPLOIT
Satisfying, enriching, entertaining and proof that Chicago contains some of this country’s greatest actors and theater, The Spin is writer/director Spenser Davis’s brilliant blend of theatric sensibilities in a digital format. This offering from Interrobang Theatre Project in Chicago “opened” last night and it is hands down — along with The Civilians’ Russian Troll Farm — my favorite online production since theaters began shuttering last March.
Matthew Martinez Hannon and Elana Elyce, Sarah Gise and Salar Ardebili
in Interrobang Theatre Project’s production of The Spin. Photo courtesy of ITP.
So far, tapings of theatrical productions of staged productions haven’t found their footing, such as Art at San Francisco Playhouse and Still at Pasadena Playhouse. And those one-man magic shows parading as theater? Ugh. Now that the grim reality is setting in regarding live performances being on hold for about another year, some true creativity is kicking in.
Tom Dacey Carr and Laura Berner Taylor
in Interrobang Theatre Project’s production of The Spin. Photo courtesy of ITP.
The “aha” concept for this hour-long, real-time, present-day, smartly written gem is that we are eavesdropping on someone else’s private Zoom meeting. How refreshing that we are watching a play, and not having folks speaking directly to the camera at us. This very funny, pitch-black political comedy — written and produced for streaming — concerns a high-profile public relations firm in Anytown, U.S.A., that has a mess on their hands: The news is reporting that one of their clients, a Public Works Director, has been caught with kiddie porn. They dropped that client, but now find themselves hired to help the mayor’s office keep this from spinning out of control as a journalist does his best to implicate the mayor himself.
Elana Elyce, Matthew Martinez Hannon, Salar Ardebili and Laura Berner Taylor
in Interrobang Theatre Project’s production of The Spin. Photo courtesy of ITP.
Lorne (Matthew Martinez Hannon ) and Deirdre (Elana Elyce) are the senior spin doctors who bring on insanely talented but rogue techno-geek Clark (Salar Ardebili) and newbie April (Sarah Gise) to be standing by for tweeting and posting. They will prepare and be on hand for a live interview between up one of the mayor’s top aides, KC (Laura Berner Taylor), and blood-thirsty, unctuous reporter Tom Dacey Carr. As we watch the personal squabbles and private chats, it becomes clear that everything seems spinning out of control in the age of COVID. So incredibly real and nail-biting is the play that, at one point, my husband hurriedly asked if we can join the chat; I had to remind him we were watching a previously recorded play. (And for those who haven’t been on Zoom yet, this will teach you what video-conferencing is all about.) And given the actors are recording from separate locations — just like an actual online meeting — the realism is thanks to Matthew Freer (videographer), LaVisa Angela Williams (costume design), Richie Vavrina (production manager) and Shawn Galligan (stage manager).
Matthew Martinez Hannon, Elana Elyce, Sarah Gise, Laura Berner Taylor and Salar Ardebili
in Interrobang Theatre Project’s production of The Spin. Photo courtesy of ITP.
And now my friends will understand in a short time why I tell them to head to Chicago for a theater trip. The acting is not just endlessly fascinating here but downright phenomenal across the board. You simply will not want this highly recommended wonder to end.
The Spin
Interrobang Theatre Project
streaming via BroadwayWorld through November 22, 2020
for tickets (only $15!), visit Interrobang