SLEEPING GIANT THINKS TOO BIG FOR ITS BRITCHES
To live is to be in a constant state of suspension. One must cling to whatever helps establish a sense of permanence. A lover that won’t leave. A favorite keepsake. A belief system that promises purpose. When fear floods our homes through TV news (or its 21st-century-sibling, the doom scroll), sometimes the only way to keep from drowning in the currents of what’s current is to hold on tight.
It’s this existential anxiety that binds Sleeping Giant, the latest comedic play from playwright and screenwriter Steve Yockey (Mercury), which took the stage for its premiere west coast run at the Road Theatre in North Hollywood last Friday.
Jacqueline Misaye and Eric Patrick Harper
Directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, the play opens with a fireworks-fueled marriage proposal which awakens a mythical creature lying dormant at the bottom of a nearby lake. What follows is a series of vignettes helmed by a modest four-person cast tackling themes of belief, morality, and how to move forward when confronted with hopelessness and confusion.
Andrea Flowers, Justin Lawrence Barnes and Jacqueline Misaye
With this loose episodic format, Sleeping Giant shifts much of its narrative weight onto its themes than on its characters, to mixed results. Whenever actors are tasked with playing multiple roles in a show, the challenge is always one of distinction. To quell audience confusion and to make each character’s limited stage time count, recognizable and colorful characters are key.
Andrea Flowers, Justin Lawrence Barnes and Eric Patrick Harper
Unfortunately, few of the characters who are brought into this mysterious lake’s orbit leave a lasting impression. Those that do often belong to Justin Lawrence Barnes (credited as The Messenger), whose energetic commitment breathes life into oft-underwritten personalities.
Eric Patrick Harper, Andrea Flowers and Justin Lawrence Barnes
In an early scene between two female friends, one blankly states, “I am the adventurous one, you are the down-to-earth one”—just one instance of tell-not-show that paints these characters and their relationships in a generic gray. By the time one overly-health-conscious character walks onstage in a psychedelic tee bearing a giant Buddha and the words “Nirvana State of Mind,” any chance at subtlety has already left the building. In another vignette, when one character receives a bouquet of flowers from a lover who assures him they are without meaning, he delivers the line “everything is a symbol for something.” When Yockey winks his proverbial giant eyeball—another motif of the show—he does so with a bit too much force.
Andrea Flowers, Eric Patrick Harper and Jacqueline Misaye
Yockey attempts to create a dreamlike atmosphere by skirting around much worldbuilding as well, but the result is a sense of place that just feels underdeveloped. In regards to the general surrealism of Sleeping Giant, Yockey bites off more than he’s willing to chew. He presents something off-kilter, but not truly unhinged. This leaves the play in an awkward limbo. It’s not narratively grounded enough to work on a literal level, and while it’s clearly trying to be weird, it doesn’t push itself into truly subversive or surprising territory.
Eric Patrick Harper and Justin Lawrence Barnes
The closest it gets is with a bizarre vignette focused on “The Butterfly King,” a godlike figure played by Barnes who welcomes Andrea Flowers (The Convert) as a kooky nihilist after she commits suicide via poisoned cake. It’s a delightfully odd sequence interrogating mortality and hope with a witty edge, and it’s a shame that it stands out as the play’s most thrillingly executed idea.
Justin Lawrence Barnes
Sleeping Giant wades into political commentary as much as existential, with cameos from violence on the news, ideological cults, and wildfires of misinformation. Some characters notice the lake’s waters rising around them, others deny it until it is literally in their homes: during the final scene, water floods the stage, making for an exciting climax. On a bleakly comic final note, a couple gets trapped by rising waters and have no choice but to enter into the ritual with the cult they were trying to escape. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em—but you might be the first one to suffer for it.
Justin Lawrence Barnes
One of the show’s greatest strengths is its brevity and willingness to pose questions without offering up answers. At just under 90 minutes, Sleeping Giant refuses to overstay its welcome, and while its commentary isn’t always groundbreaking, it isn’t overstated either. The show is full of ideas as grand as its titular creature. Unfortunately, it doesn’t swing as big as it promises to, and without interesting characters to steer the ship or a solid narrative construction, it drowns in its own thoughts.
photos by Brian Graves
poster design by Kaene Palalani
Sleeping Giant
The Road Theatre Company
NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood
Fri and Sat at 8; Sun at 2
ends on February 23, 2025
for tickets ($17-$39), call 818.761.8838 or visit Road Theatre
for more shows, visit Theatre in LA
