STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
It’s easy to pick out the “crazy” ones in Edna Walsh’s “MEDICINE,” now playing at The Spot.
They’d be the daffy Mary 2, played by Yanna Lantz, who is flamboyant and over-the-top surreal right down to the lobster costume in which she introduces herself to her patient.
And Mary 1, played by Aly Wepplo, who introduces herself as a sort of Stan Laurel-esque type who is unable to rip a Groucho Marx eyebrow from her face.
Meanwhile, Kevin Wade plays the pajama-clad John Kane, a quiet, gentle, anguished man who does not know why he’s been committed to a mental hospital, other than the fact that he’s “not like other people.”
Poor guy just wants to make sense of his memories about parental neglect, childhood bullying and even abuse from the institution staff so he can be judged healed and return to the world outside. But can that happen, giving the absurd dramatherapy he’s being subjected to?
The craziness comes from Mary 1 and Mary 2, who are simply two musical-theatre actors who were hired to dramatize Kane’s life story. They could do so quietly and respectfully. But they choose to go full bore, offering an over-the-top production.
At first, it’s the stuff of absurdist comedy. But it soon becomes a despairing frenzy as Mary 2 decides Kane’s story is not first-rate enough to bother with—she wants to cut pages from the script of his life so she can head to another gig. What’s more, she decides that Mary 1--the more thoughtful of the two-- is simply a technician and not an actor.
It’s only a matter of time before their initial focus on John Kane turns to sparring.
Walsh’s tale was in part inspired by stories of abuse in the psychiatric institutions of his native Ireland. And it is a unique look at how we treat people being cared for in institutions.
In "Medicine," a man lives in a mental health facility after society declares he needs daily care. But he never receives that care. He's locked away and basically abandoned. So how could he ever get better?” said Wepplo.
The Spot has engineered a unique stage, in which the audience feels as if they’re looking through an observation window like one someone might find in a mental institution or jail. In this case, it’s a window onto absurdism.
“Medicine” continues Wednesday through Sunday, April 26-30 at The Spot, 220 Lewis St. in Ketchum. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday before concluding with a 4 p.m. show on Sunday. A talkback with actors and crew members will follow Sunday’s show.
Tickets are $15 for those 30 and under and $30 for all others, available at https://www.spotsunvalley.com.
COMING UP:
The Spot will hold its annual Summer Fundraiser/Season Announcement party on Sunday, July 9. The party, held in a private garden, is always chockfull of musical entertainment, wine and hors d’oeuvres and—of course—the big reveal of The Spot’s upcoming season.
Those wishing an invite should email development@spotsunvalley.com.