THE MERMAID WARS

My overall impression

THEATRE REVIEW #285 – The Mermaid Wars
“”The Mermaid Wars” Is A Dark Comedy With Waves Of Twisted Turns & Topical Issues!”

Written By Lorenzo Marchessi
When you think today’s government and the ultra-conservative lawmakers – imagine them taking it yet another step further – rewriting the mystical mystery out of what legends are made of. What I am talking about is “The Mermaid Wars”, Skypilot Theatre’s most intriguing contribution to the 2015 Hollywood Fringe experience. Written by Adam Hahn with an extremely dark tone but filled with moments of humor, thought and some scary concepts to think about, this play was cleverly staged and directed by Nicholas Leland.

Broken into many scenes and cross segments that include a mysterious laboratory, the White House, a boat on the sea and under the depths of the ocean in a submarine, this play explores a ‘real’ war with Mermaids as they drive the males of our country practically insane with their ‘siren songs’. Leland, who also did the very clever set and lighting design gathered the uniquely colorfully talented Mermaid costume designs of Halley and William Straub and the stylized Mermaid choreography by Kristina Lloyd and created this ethereal and surrealist undersea environment with the real feeling over being in the deep depths of the ocean! Anthony Backman is the Vice-President Kyle Norman who ends up in the first chair after taking the leap into experiencing the sounds of the siren songs of the Mermaids that comes from the captured Mermaid Princess. Anthony gives an intense performance as he realizes what he must do as the eventual President of the US who is fighting a war – undenounced to him directly – with Mermaids. He’s got some sharp and serious moments but a few that will make you laugh out loud as his witty comic timing and exaggerated looks just electrify the stage. There is a nice opening scene with Damien Landini playing Brian, a scientist at the secret laboratory hidden by the Government, and Tina Walsch playing Traci his date, as they explore emotions and feelings of first dating. Damien is quite charming as he engages the shyness and concern while tempering it nervousness and curiosity. Tina is wonderful to watch as her personality takes several shifts into obsession and sexual energy. The two are hysterical to watch. Jennifer Hogan plays Caroline a pregnant woman with a secret that she doesn’t even know she has herself. I liked Jennifer and her energy as she narrates her situation but her passion and energy come to fruition as she realizes what her pregnancy is all about! President Swann was played by Morry Schorr, and he gives the USA Presidential performance a real spin as he plays loony with a very funny spin to it. While his dialogue can be somewhat nonsensical, his humor is real and his interactions with Anthony are some of the funniest scenes in the play. The crew of the Submarine included the driven and serious Lise Hart who as the Captain is sharp and driven, Marisa Van Den Borre as the Executive Officer gives a complimentary smart performance as she realizes what this war is about to do and Claire Lake as Jane Gibbs the Sonar Operator who seems to understand and translate what the Mermaids attack is going to do to fight for global ‘supremacy’.

Dwana White is Stephanie a person on a mission to infiltrate the facility that has caged the Princess of the undersea world and yet a researcher of sorts who realizes the female is immune to their songs. Dwana is serious and straight forward while somewhat miss directed as she learns what power women will have with these new discoveries.

The laboratory Doctors are played by Jeff Blumberg as Dr. McGuff, Tony Decarlo as Dr. Forkan, Marlon Samuda as Dr. Bruce, and later there is a a female contingent of Doctors played by Starina Johnson as Dr. Olsen and Ann-Marie Lariccia as Dr. Bell who all give a uniquely funny take on their exposure and intermixing with the capture Princess Mermaid. A special note for Kerr Lordygan playing Dr. Jenkins who gives a very colorful, fun and overzealous performance as his descriptions and explanations with keep you in stitches, – and Christopher Palle who plays a Janitor has quick but funny scene as he too is swooned into the capture Mermaids enchantments. A straying boat traveling the seas above contained a mix of compassionate and dispassionate passengers which included Henry Knotts playing Travis who gives a colorful performance as a free-spirited guy with a few issues. Kayla Vosburg as Kansas whose often sarcastic and somewhat mean as she makes for a great comic foil to Lana Rae Jarvis as Lexi who is the more sensible, concerned and smarter of the three who first gets an idea of what these Mermaids can and will do. All the Mermaids enchanting and stylized movement including the wonderful ballet-like performances of Sohani Holland as Silea, Kesia Elwin as Lola, Claire Harvey as Riyha, Lauren Manzano as Alteira, Lejon Stewart as Galcius and Jennifer Strand as SaRaFa. From the costumes to their movement – they were extremely haunting to watch. The part of the captured, yet in seemingly control of Princess Iria was played by Darla Rose Jaffe and her ethereal and ‘floating’ performance what not only chilly but somewhat enthralling as she dominates and overtakes anything and everyone close to her prison – a water tank inside this secret laboratory. SkyPilot Theatre does a wonderfully unique job of making fantasy and reality into a viable story and spins it with a ‘Twilight Zone’ flair and sprinkles it with lot’s of humor from beginning to end – that’s what “The Mermaid Wars” is. A massive twist on the politically twisted and the over ambitious science and technology we have all around us – except with Mermaids! Too much fun! Check them out at www.SkyPilotTheatre.com and tell them Lorenzo sent you from www.FaceBook.com/TheGeekAuthority !

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