Chelsea Marcantel Pens a Tabloid Wet Dream
20% Theatre Company presents
Devour
Reviewed by Katy Walsh
Kim and her Kardashian sisters. Paris and Nicki Hilton. Ivanka Trump. People magazine has snapshots of them. TMZ keeps tabs on them. The world watches these gals have drinks, affairs, and breakdowns. These ladies are all famous! Not for their contributions to the betterment of humankind but because they’re rich or – more importantly – their parents are. And the public wants to see how the other half lives but mostly they want to gawk as ‘the privileged’ crash and burn.
20% Theatre Company presents Devour. Anais is in jail. She has been charged with the triple deaths of her former boyfriends. They all died mysteriously one night. Nothing links Anais to the crime except her confessional letter that she sent to Rolling Stone magazine. Her parents have hired the best lawyers to defend her innocence. But Anais isn’t talking to anyone but the media. As her defense team tries to piece together a plausible story of her guiltlessness, Anais continues to tell reporters that she did it. Devour is the next generation of reality shows: “Housewives’ Daughters of Malibu.”
Playwright Chelsea Marcantel pens a tabloid wet dream. A spoiled rich girl kills and confesses for no reason. It’s the kind of article series that sells out. On the garish surface, the story sounds vaguely familiar or at least highly probable. Marcantel digs deeper to deconstruct Anais’s past. Through flashback scenes at nightclubs and interviews, the audience gets to know Anais. Kristen Johnson (Anais) plays it perfectly multi-dimensional. At first, Johnson seems obnoxiously entitled. She is hilariously and pathetically loud-mouthed, demanding and self-absorbed. But that’s not her whole persona, Johnson shows deeply vulnerable snippets of a woman that relates to “Frankenstein.” Johnson forces the audience to care about this socialite-trash. Under the direction of Jacqueline Stone, Johnson brilliantly humanizes the monster. Marcantel zeros in on her protagonist with an in-depth expose but her supporting characters could use a little more story substance. Although we are left questioning their real connection to Anais, there are amusing moments with the gal pals; the jealous frenemy Lindsay Bartlett (Orchid) and the dim-witted train-wreck Cassandra Quinn (Aspen). Sean Ewert (Reporter) also does an ongoing funny bit as the host of Celebrity Intel.
Stone stages the play like a fashion show. The audience is on either side of a runway. The choice is interesting but leads to some sluggish pacing. Stone has characters enter and exit on opposite sides of the runway. The action becomes stretched out across the wide theatre space. As the audience focuses on a scene playing out on one end of the runway, we can hear the high heels clicking and floor squeaking as actors enter the other side. The intended focal point loses the audience connection as we shift to see what’s coming next. Stone also stages dramatic end-of-the-runway moments but no one sees them from the side views. The missed opportunity leads to some emotional connection loss to the deeper message. Still, Stone keeps the glitzy spectacle of a fashion show, aided by Lighting Designer Keith Parham and Sound Designer Marie Quinn. It looks and sounds like the place to be for a Couture Killer. Devour entertains with flair AND tells the inside story of a poor, little rich girl.
