THEATER REVIEW: Some Assembly Required @ Society Hill Playhouse, 4/3

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THEATER REVIEW: Some Assembly Required @ Society Hill Playhouse, 4/3

POSTED: Tuesday, April 6, 2010, 4:00 PM

Filed Under: Arts Theater

Photo | G. DeCandia

Some Assembly Required begins and ends in darkness. Even as the lights rise, there is little clarity to be found here; it's an observation that isn't so much a criticism as a word of advice to future attendees. This BCKSEET Productions world premiere delves beyond a sterile depiction of mental illness, and instead portrays the protagonists' point of view through a fragmented multimedia narrative. While billed as a "meta-musical," the play's original songs are used more as transitions between scenes than as spontaneous emotional outbursts. Video projections provide a limited mirror into the outside world, and a live six-piece band compromises the living backdrop.

Photo | John Michael Szczepaniak-Gillece

Katherine, our unhinged heroine, seems less crazy than just plain worn-out by the world. She describes the trauma of too many mustard choices at the grocery store and the pointlessness of washing her hair when she'll just have to wash it again the next day. Kate Brennan's (also the playwright and composer, pictured, above) depiction of Katherine drips in dry humor, giving the character lucidity — which conflicts with the play's insistence on her supposed insanity. Her most compelling emotions are portrayed through song, amplified by Brennan's impressive vocals. As her brother (or not?) Auggie, Josh Totora (pictured) is a high-energy, multi-instrumental foil. That is, until the plot further deconstructs and roles reverse. Throw in a jibberish language and some visits to doctors and therapists to get an involved collage of mental illness and an ill health-care system. While occasionally heavy-handed (some melodramatic jazz ditties, a banal video projection of names of various prescriptions), there is heart revealed through the musical numbers including "Why Did I Bother to Love You At All?" and "Baggage." As long as you're willing to go along for the ride, Some Assembly Required is both an entertaining and thought-provoking trip.

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