Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Coterie "Science Fiction Triple Feature" review by Piddums

Three Science Fiction Classics
Rating: 5

Science Fiction Triple Feature
The Coterie Theatre

The Coterie's Science fiction Triple feature takes three classics of young adult science fiction, Ray Bradbury's The Veldt, Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon and Steven Vincent Benet's The Water of Babylon.

The Bradbury and Benet pieces are the shorter bits, working as bookends around the much longer Flowers for Algernon. I read the Bradbury story when I was in Junior high school. It is chilling, but fairly incomprehensible. Two children have programmed an entertainment system to do something awful to their parents. Vanessa Severo gives a compelling performance as the terrified Mother.

Benet's The Waters of Babylon, from 1937, is an almost clichéd look at a possibly prehistoric world, but it got me wondering if Benet was the first too come up with this plot. Benet is mostly forgotten, but during the thirties and forties was a popular and readable poet, who wrote more than his share of Sci-Fi pieces and he might be due for a resurgence.

The central piece is Flowers for Algernon about a mentally retarded man given a life altering surgery. Rusty Sneary gives a tremendous performance showing the rise and fall of this gentle character. Watching it, I was amazed at the story flow, showing the character gaining more and more intelligence, but with it becoming aware of his position in life. The devastating ending had me weeping.

A fine production done by the Coterie and directed by Ron McGee.

read the review at KC Stage

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