What I liked
The energy of the piece was non stop and the breaking of fourth wall with a wedding video was a fun shift for the audience, all getting to imagine their own wedding as the actors detailed theirs. I personally embraced the philosophical legal battle between the leads and could have seen a through line from start to finish with that in mind.
Also, one of the characters is watching a soccer game the whole show and when I caught a glimpse of his phone it was actually playing a game, nice touch. His performance along with the wealthy couple really glued the show and I applaud the finesse the entire team had while creating this piece!
What I didn't like
Given that this play is set in our universe, directly in our time, I am interested to see how some of the bits age. Even a week after Ambien took center stage in the American conversation, the audience didn’t seem as engaged to a character faulting their failed wedding speech to Ambien. Maybe In second drafts, the writer explores what about the characters is funny and less about the period they are in, because the characters she wrote are quite fascinating and given more it might have added to a more satisfying finish.
My overall impression
Cat Cam Catharsis politely dabbles into the fascinating battleground of American superficiality and the selfish archetypes that spend more time thinking and much less time extracting real genuine compassion for each other. Underneath some shaking mildly coordinated use of space, the dialogue and characters shine in the moments where the group clicks.
I will probably return cause I’d like to get a second go around with some of the material.
