Filling in the gaps 08/11/2013 - 3:15am

This show was fucking weird. 10 PM shows and 10 PM crowds can be a bit strange--just ask Ira Brooker. But this? I swear I was not expecting one piece of this mayhem. My notes read thusly for The Cosmic Equation = 2 Wives + 2 Husbands ÷ Adventure: “About 50 in this crowd tops. Only POC (person of color). What the hell am I watching? Actually. Does he have an erection? What is going on? Her birth scene. Suckling the nipples. ‘Birth is a messy process. Thank you kindly, odd bird midwife.’ Wisdom balls. WTF. Laughed really hard but it made not a scrap of sense. Prince and Jungle Witch were hilarious.” Did that make sense to you? It takes a certain kind of person, I think, to enjoy a ride like this one. The plot makes no sense. Two husbands, engrossed in work, miss their wives who leave them. Simply put. Don’t even ask why the numbers talk and eat and fuck each other, where the wives went and why there’s a horse, where’d all the rum go, why are we on a boat, how do women become pennies, what jungle is this, what the fuck are wisdom balls, or any of the rest. So if that bothers you, this show is not for you. But if you are willing to unhinge that part of your brain that insists on some shred of reality, then you might enjoy the zaniness that these actors full-heartedly embrace. They know it’s fucking weird, trust me. And they love it. And that is kind of a beautiful thing to see. Sure, some parts seem assembled for laughs. I’m not going to insist the acting is top-notch or revolutionary or moving. You’ll laugh a lot. A lot of incredulous, whooping-hooting-hollering laughing. One woman in particular was really losing it. She found her niche. My favorite part was probably when one of the actors broke and cracked up laughing in the middle of her own scene. Granted, she was squatting and pretending to be laying several golden wisdom balls, which were bouncing and rolling away all the while. What a great and touching reminder that live theater is a two-way communication between two groups with high stakes and desperate needs. I was impressed there was not more laughing by the cast. So turn off your brain. Turn up your senses. Enjoy the show--they certainly are. Jealous?