A NEIGHBORLY NICE LADY—
WITH BUZZ ALDRIN IN HER HEAD

Susan Clausen shines in Ian August’s
funny, surreal one-woman ride

Reading the press blurb about Donna Orbits the Moon left me scratching my head, wondering what it was actually about. Having seen it now, I get why. Some shows are hard to describe well. That doesn’t mean, though, that they aren’t captivating. Here’s an attempt to put it into words without saying too much about the fun in Ian August’s absurdist and surreal 90-minute one-woman monologue:

Donna (Susan Clausen) is just one of those good neighborhood people you’d have to like—like Edie McClurg on The Hogan Family or Betty Rubble on The Flintstones. Donna will tell you, with both pride and humility, how and why she makes gooseberry blondies for bake sales if the cause is good, even if she doesn’t understand the cause (like a bake sale at the local prison). So it seems inexplicable to others—and more and more to Donna herself—why she suddenly breaks into little fits of rage where she makes unexplainable choices. Even more bizarre is why Buzz Aldrin (yes, the second man to walk on the moon) inexplicably talks to her inside her head, giving her advice she doesn’t understand or want.

There’s also a lot going on around the stage, especially in the last fifteen minutes. Director Kandace Crystal does a wonderful job of coordinating interesting lighting by Mashun Tucker, Jr. and sound/music effects by Ted Leib to create the otherworldliness in Donna’s mind. Duane McGregor’s set choices are simple on the surface but really support the climax of the program.

In the end, though, it comes down to a spectacular performance by Ms. Clausen, who brings Donna’s sweetness, natural quirkiness, dreams, and occasional temporary madness to life. It must be an exhausting exercise each day—Donna is certainly full of energy that covers the whole stage. One credit to Clausen’s acting ability is how we watched her for 90 non-stop minutes, but the woman who took her curtain call had such a tremendously different energy that it was a little jarring to be reminded where Clausen ends and Donna begins. Perhaps Clausen took Aldrin’s oft-repeated advice to Donna: “You need to go up before you can land.”

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photos by Ken Jacques

Donna Orbits the Moon
Scripps Ranch Theatre
Alliant International University, 9783 Avenue of Nations in San Diego
Fri & Sat at 7:30; Sun at 2; Mon at 7:30 (Feb. 9)
ends on February 15, 2026
for tickets, call 858.578.7728 or visit Scripps Ranch Theatre

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