Theater Review: Heisenberg

            

                   Danae Steele and Charlie Riendeau in "Heisenberg"

You have to wonder about a 42-year-old woman so impulsive as to kiss the neck of an unknown 75-year-old man on a London train station bench.

But since British playwright Simon Stephens has been quoted as saying “Drama concerns itself only with the things people do to one another,” there’s a certain logic to the top of his quirky two-hander “Heisenberg,” playing through Feb. 13 at Scripps Ranch Theatre.

Stephens is perhaps best known in the U.S. for his 2012 play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” which won both an Olivier and a Tony for Best New Play (and which will be presented this season at San Diego Repertory Theatre).

In 2015 he wrote “Heisenberg,” which premiered off-Broadway. The play is named after the German scientist who in 1927 came up with the principle that it is impossible to measure the position and momentum of a particle simultaneously with absolute precision.

Stephens illustrates this with a peculiar 75-minute rom-com in six scenes that is in turns edgy, insane, amusing, twitchy and even tender.

Georgie (Denae Steele) is a high-energy widowed grammar-school receptionist whose behavior alternates from lunacy to amusing to nosiness to genuine feeling. She has lost both a husband (to death) and son Jason, who left London for New Jersey and has never returned. Georgie wants to bankroll a trip in search of her lost son. Does she just want to use Alex or is a genuine relationship growing as time goes by?

Charlie Riendeau brilliantly portrays septuagenarian Alex, a butcher by trade, a loner by choice, who moves from suspicious to confused and from amused to a genuine affection for the young whirlwind Georgie. He takes his real pleasure in music (you name the type, he listens to it), and when she asks about it, tells her that music does not exist in the notes but “in the space between the notes.”

Steele may drive you as crazy with her frenzied, ADHD-like approach to conversation as she did me (and Alex), but it’s in the script, so just relax and watch what happens.

Never mind that the setup here is questionable, nor that the old saw that opposites attract might not in reality reach these two. Just go along with the explosions and enjoy the quieter moments.

Director Charles Peters gets the best out of Riendeau, a local theater staple who has been absent from the stage too long. He has just the right look and attitude for Alex.

Stage directions state that “the stage should be as bare as possible.” Accordingly, Nathan Waits is credited with set construction (a few wooden pieces only), but no set designer is named. Neither is a costumer. This show is not about place or clothes; it’s about the effect these two will have on each other.

Kudos to Steve Murdock and Mitchell Simkovsky for their respective sound and lighting designs.

“Heisenberg” is unusual, to say the least, but recommended for the adventurous theatergoer.

“Heisenberg” plays through February 13, 2022 at Scripps Ranch Theatre, at Alliant International University’s Legler Benbough Theatre, 9783 Avenue of Nations, San Diego.

Showtimes: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets: (858) 395-0573 or scrippsranchtheatre.org

Theater review: Desperate Measures

    Jo Garcia-Reger, Rudy Martinez, Samantha Duval, Michael Louis Cusimano, Rusty Ferracane & Elijah Rock

Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” is nutty enough in its original form, with a character in jail awaiting hanging for offenses venal politicians engage in themselves (like having sex with a woman outside the marriage contract) and several characters pretending to be something they’re not.

But to take that British lunacy, set it in the American Wild West and make a musical of it? That’s real craziness, and thanks to writer Peter Kellogg and composer David Friedman, “Desperate Measures” has just made its West Coast debut at North Coast Repertory Theatre, where it plays through Feb. 12.

Christopher Williams directs the show with panache, and six actors rush around speaking in rhyming couplets like this: 

“And if that offends unduly, 

blame Will Shakespeare, not yours truly.”

Somewhere in Arizona, there’s a jail administered by Sheriff Martin Green (Elijah Rock), whose only prisoner at the moment is Johnny Blood. The Sheriff doesn’t especially relish the task of executing Blood, but sings that “Justice ain’t kind” and “You can’t fight every battle. Most days you muddle through.”

Michael Louis Cusimano plays the condemned prisoner, who shares a cell with Father Morse (Rudy Martinez), a relatively relaxed prelate just looking for a place to sleep. Blood has the top bunk.

Johnny, hysterical about his upcoming execution, is thrilled when his sister Susanna (Jo Garcia-Reger) shows up, and asks her to petition the Governor for a pardon. It’s Susanna who is about to take the veil, but she agrees to intercede for her brother.

Now here’s a character for you: the Governor is a Nazi-inflected jerk with an utterly unpronounceable name, played with Hitlerian relish by Rusty Ferracane. He thinks good government is about security and safety. “Someday They Will Thank Me,” he sings, finishing with “Make Arizona great again.”

When Susanna asks him to spare Johnny’s life, the Gov wants something in exchange. Susanna stomps out in a hurry, but meets local hooker Bella Rose (played wonderfully by Samantha Duval) on the way, and since they look rather alike, they make their own arrangement that will save Johnny’s life.

It’s a goofy play, full of funny lines and jaunty songs played with great relish by a quartet of fine musicians.

Marty Burnett’s minimal, easily-movable set pieces, Elisa Benzoni’s costumes (especially the Gov’s mostly black number), Jill Gorrie Rovasto’s jaunty choreography, Matt Novotny’s lighting and Aaron Rumley’s sound design all contribute to the look and atmosphere of this crazy show.

If you’re looking for relief from the last couple of awful years, grab an N95 mask (must also prove vaccination status) and get a ticket for “Desperate Measures.”

The details

“Desperate Measures” plays through February 12, 2022.

Shows Wed. @ 2 and 7pm, Thurs & Fri. @ 8 pm; Sat. at 2 & 8 pm; Sun @ 2 and 7 pm 

For tickets: ncrt.org; (858) 481-1055