#90 - Cockeyed

Ah, breathe it in. That new play smell. Oh, sorry, forgot you don't have the iSmell which transmits odors over the Internet. Allow me to explain. Cockeyed by William Downs was last year's New Play Festival winner at Hot City Theatre. As part of winning, Hot City produces the play the following season. So, TL and I went a couple weeks ago to see what was essentially the World Premiere run.

And as with Glengarry Glen Ross, Hot City knows how to put on a good play. In this case, Cockeyed tells the story of a philosophy major office drone Phil, who has secret desires on Sophia, the office girl. Sophia never notices nice guys like Phil. Indeed Phil is invisible to her. Note, not practically invisible like I am to women. No, this is Sue Richards invisibility - Sophia can't see, hear, or talk to Phil, even when he is right in front of her. Which is a tad frustrating for Phil, but leads into some wonderful farcical moments for the audience.

Cockeyed is a funny farce and a sweet romantic comedy - can Phil make himself real to Sophia and convince her that meeting a nice guy is an option for her? But it also works on another level. Phil occasionally breaks the fourth wall with his philosophy major monologues - which aren't just Downs proving he can name-drop Plato and other philosophers. They are relevant to the story and force brief meditations on deeper questions of what it means to exist, to love, and to grow as a person.

The next New Play Festival occurs at the end of June. Some of them look interesting and I might go to a few of the staged readings. See the next big thing before it happens. Then I'll just be insufferably hip - well I know I'll have the insufferable part down at least. :) Later.