“Dead Man’s Cell Phone” is like a drunk friend you are having a long conversation with, including a lot of gibberish with great moments of blazing clarity and genius. The production was as well thought out, as it was dream-like. This absurdly dark comedy, directed by Lacy Klinger, managed to ask important questions while still not taking its own work too seriously.
The set is reminiscent of M.C. Escher's “Relativity,” making it the perfect backdrop for the actors to move around the strange world that playwright, Sarah Ruhl, created. “Dead Man’s Cell Phone’s” unique universe revolves around Jean, played by Baylee Holloran. Holloran played a relatable and meek character that most audience members could easily understand. She acted as a reality touchstone and guide through this world of the absurd. Holloran pulled this off beautifully, despite the fact that the character's actual age, 40, was not exactly believable for the young Holloran.
Just when you think this show is just a strange and entertaining metaphor for our lack of human connection, Dwight, played by Ryan Bultrowicz, come in and make it a love story. Bultrowicz was so tender with Holloran it made it hard not to make an audible “aww” sound. He played the forgotten brother with a sensitivity rarely seen in comedy. Holloran and Bultrowicz had real chemistry.
The person in charge of causing all this lasting emotional damage was Mrs. Gotlieb, played by Pamela Wright. Wright is not a Longwood student but she is a veteran of the Waterworks Players. It was a good call by Klinger to cast an age appropriate Mrs. Gotlieb. Her natural ability to take over each scene in which she was featured was exactly what the character needed. Every other actor on stage seemed to fear her, and with good reason. Gottlieb is a force to be reckoned with and Wright truly embodied that.
Miriam Loya plays the dead man’s recently widowed wife, Hermia. At first Loya played Hermia fairly close to the chest, making it easy to write her off. However during her main scene Loya managed to make you laugh as much as she made you think. Hermia is a complex character and Loya showed us all those complexities in the most fascinating and hilarious way possible.
One of Hermia’s main complications is ‘The Other Woman,’ this role was double cast and was played the first weekend by Gabrielle Klatt. Being the dead man’s mistress is no easy task. However, there was times when Klatt’s over the top portrayal felt almost too big for this kind of show. However as “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” goes on and becomes more and more absurd you find that Klatt was simply living in that insanity from scene one. She is a colorful, seductive cartoon character that has an impressive capacity for the splits.
Of course there can be no “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” without a dead man. Jimmy Mello plays Gordon, the dead man who sets all these events into motion. Mello gave the audience the highlight of the show with his one and only scene in which he wasn't pretending to be deceased. He plays Gordon with such unabashed cockiness and egocentrism that he almost makes a full 360 into being charming. Mello plays Gordon with such confidence that he ends up being the most charismatic character of the entire show. Think “American Psycho” with less killing and more dying.
The show’s direction, cast and set design came together to make this a truly strange and unforgettable performance. Klinger’s choice to have even the backstage crew be actors who are fully engaged with the onstage happenings was a creative move that fully paid off. Small creative decisions like that one are what make Longwood University's production of “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” the kind of live theatre that should not be missed.
