Theater Review by Michael Dale . . . .
A 333-year-old woman and a pregnant robot walk into a studio apartment in Williamsburg . . .
While the initial premise behind playwright/director Micharne Cloughley’s 43 Stages of Grieving: A Comedy may seem a bit far-fetched, her sweetly humorous futuristic story is quite touching, no matter how little you may relate to centuries-old people, pregnant robots, or people who live in Williamsburg.
Primarily a two-person play, the 90-minute piece is indeed set in a Williamsburg studio built sometime in the current decade. Scenic/lighting designer Jonathan Cottle creates an open space with bits of furniture that pop out against the dark background.
The year is 2333 and the studio’s current occupant, Anne (Tara Pacheco), is a bit of a celebrity, holding the title of World’s Oldest Human thanks to her being the first successful participant in a medical treatment called Eternal Youth, which has been keeping most of her body parts in a state of hyper-rejuvenation.
This is the kind of play where information is fed to the audience in dribs and drabs throughout, so some basic plot points, such as Anne’s reasons for deciding she’s lived long enough and to go off the treatment, won’t be revealed here.
In her final 48 hours, Anne has received a visit from a friendly, outgoing robot named Taya (Clara Francesca), who has developed emotions like sympathy and compassion (“One of my specialties is feeling science.”) and, after learning all available public information about Anne’s headline-making breakup with her boyfriend Nick, has rigged the computer system that controls her in order to escape and help Anne go through the 43—not five—stages of grieving.
Without disrupting their conversation, projection designer Qixin Zhang flashes the names of each stage as it is achieved:
Stage 1: Shock
Stage 8: Ice Cream
Stage 11: Just want to sleep
Stage 22: I Should Write A Novel
The plot is light on action, but the two very fine performances make the gradual bonding between the life-weary Anne and the wide-eyed Taya, who marvels at every new discovery, charming to watch.
Cloughley’s script is full of clever exchanges that suggest how society has changed (“I’d love ethically melted water,” Anne says after Taya offers her “water from an Antarctic glacier, naturally melted as a result of the seasons, not from global warming.”) and how it remains the same (“The weight loss market is a septillion dollar industry.”).
Eventually, a third character enters or, rather, is delivered. Alysia Reiner voices a Siri-like device which is a prototype for The Perfect Woman. Taya explains that the 23rd Century was a time of numerous corporate attempts to create and manufacture totally agreeable (or generally silent) human-presenting robots as purchased romantic and sexual partners.
“These companies were happy to take billions of dollars of venture capital money in the twenty-two fifties, but in a stunning win for sixth wave feminism and sex workers unions globally, none of these companies turned a profit . . . A mere handful of humans married robots.”
With amusing observations about where society could be heading, 43 Stages of Grieving: A Comedy is sure to propel post-theater conversations regarding the lure of eternal life and the humanity-imitating capabilities of science. A very enjoyable venture that, while maybe not Earth-shattering, is world-embracing.
43 Stages of Grieving: A Comedy. Through March 25 at The Tank (312 West 36th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues). Ninety minutes, no intermission. www.thetanknyc.org
Photos: Mari Eimas-Dietrich
