The Aux Dog Theatre is making a career of being as edgy and dark as it can. Although with all the shock value available on the bottomless pit of the Internet or unapologetically vile television, it doesn’t always seem to have the desired effect.
Not that “Coming Attractions” by Ted Tally is irrelevant. Quite the contrary. A deeply cynical satire of the incest-driven media machine is just as important in the 80s as it is. It’s no “Network” (the prophetic 1976 film), but the play has a job to do and it does it well.
The inbreeding of popular culture created by a news entity that is ultimately cultivated and harvested is absolutely a realty in the world of tomorrow that is 2010—paper newspapers, pagers, and Blockbuster are out, 24-hour news networks, Twitter and torrents are in.
The pop culture references of the of show are updated a little synthetically—such as big names like Sarah Palin inserted forcibly in place of whatever the big name was at the time. But it can’t be helped.
The story of Lonnie Wayne Burke (Mattew Van Wettering) is one where he desperately wants to be famous— the mark of success and wealth, especially in America. To get there, Manny Alter, an acting agent (Gene Dunne) suggests he become a serial killer.
Wettering’s lead performance really carries the show, exhibiting natural comic timing vital for the absurd humanism that his character needs. Much of the carrying Wettering does is of Dunne, who seems to have trouble with his lines and remembering where to stand. Dunne’s slime is well appreciated, however, if not a bit lackluster.
A throng of actors plays the rest of the parts, nearly a dozen each in some cases. This, too, is a mixed bag, with mostly Brian Fejer, Elizabeth L.A. Kofford and Bridget S. Dunne standing out. Each of the characters is distinct and wonderful, with every one funnier than the last.
It’s the shock value that comes across as odd and sad instead of witty. At one point, a meaty chunk of pubic hair is thrown angrily on the ground, prefacing one of the only serious dialogues in the play.
It’s hard to pay attention, because the shiny hunk of hair just sits there, the proverbial elephant pubes in the room.
Really, the play addresses the familiar interplay between crime and showbiz also explored in the earlier, and enormously popular 1975 musical “Chicago.” Though as important as a point this is to make, the play is essentially one joke, and with no intermission, it can get can old.
Which is why it’s good the climax is so entertaining. Here, the show really comes back together: The black humor, a bit of tragedy, the excellent ensemble en mass, and the set at its flashiest-glam-best. Even Gene Dunne gets a little glimmer of evil among all of flamboyant, irony humor.
“Coming Attractions” is funny and fun, not without its problems, but certainly not passé.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
