Saturday, January 14, 2012

don't answer a dead man's cellphone





i mean, every time i've come across a dead body on the beach, the avenues, in a back alley, i've been tempted to pull that ringing phone out of the clutching hand. so far i've refused. what would i say? what kind of madman might be on the other end, looking for a victim? true, i could abandon this boring life and get involved in another, throw myself off track into a meaningful and terrifying adventure. should this ever happen, i'll share the details.


in the meantime, the other night i shot photos at a dress rehearsal of a play by this name 'dead man's cellphone' by sara ruhl, directed by brad moniz. unfortunately, i couldn't enjoy the flow of the play as much as i would have liked, clicking the button. still, i got my laughs from this ingenious story. a guy dies at a cafe table, his cell keeps ringing, and the girl nearby, reading a book, gets very annoyed. finally, she confronts him and he tips sideways. after a moment of horror, she can't resist answering the phone.


yes, she does get pulled into a bizarre family, and she keeps making up stories to help them feel better, that the corpse loved them, appreciated all they'd done, found them sexy, and so on.  definitely a fantasy satisfied. she even finds love. no, i don't want to put in spoilers. you'll have to see for yourself:


http://blueroomtheatre.com/

the director, brad moniz, carefully thought things thru, from the edward hopper mural 'nighhawks' to the leonard cohen music during the intermission. the play circular and so is cohen's music, which i've always loved, mostly cause he undercuts his own image in a sly way. it's details like this which pull the whole creative venture together. i can't wait to see it again.


http://www.pbase.com/wwp/cell

to quote oscar wilde: don't try to lead my life, it's already taken. 


                                                                        brad moniz