Brian Pracht’s UnPlugged Inat Theatre Row’s Lion Theatre, has one great thing going for it ….the performance of Devin Norik as Zero a man who is more child than adult as the world ends or so he thinks. When Norik is on stage you can’t take your eyes off his multi-layered performance. He is a light of talent and has the “it factor” in spades. As Chris, Joe Curnutte’ performance is reminiscent of Emilio Estevez and when he is paired with Norik he shines, unfortunately he is paired with Athena Masci as Leah. I sat there and wondered why Ms. Masci was cast, as her theatre acting chops and her vocal tone are not to par. She is more like a film actress and there is a difference.
The premise to the play is it’s December 2012 and the world may be coming to an end. Three friends are scraping by in New York City. Escape can be found with the click of a button, but the further they distance themselves from reality, the greater their need to connect. Amid this battle between fantasy and reality comes UnPlugged In , an end-of-the-world drama about a group of friends fighting for the connections that matter most.
Associate artistic director of Primary Stages Michelle Bossy directs and she keeps the play interesting. Brian Pracht’s script is interesting but Ms. Masci is so miscast that it is hard to tell what really works and what doesn’t.
The design team of Michael P. Kramer (set design), Joey Blaha (costume design), Nicole Pearce (lighting design), and Janie Bullard (sound design) all do superb work.
I do recommend Unplugged In as Devin Norik is a star on the rise and it always thrilling to discover that.
Unplugged In Theatre Row’s Lion Theatre (410 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues) Until June 9th
Posted by Suzanna Bowling
on May 27, 2012. Filed under ENTERTAIMENT,Theatre.
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