By Susan Dunn
It’s all in the news now: couples with fertility issues working through our latest technologies to create or enhance a family. But what happens when those cutting-edge IVF solutions are meted out by doctors who make mistakes?
Written by Eric Pfeffinger, Human Error thrusts us into an unthinkable situation when Madelyn and Keenan learn that their embryo has been implanted into the wrong person.
Their doctor, weaselly and wackily played by John Charles Quimpo, doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, call his lawyer, flee the country, or try to counsel the semi-hysterical couple into some sane action plan. Feelings are at a boil, and he can’t stop grinning. He advises Madelyn and Keenan to meet with the other couple carrying their prospective child and try to work it out but offers no clues on how to do that.
Next, we find the bereft couple sitting in their car. Madelyn is a strong but confused and socially inept blue-voting liberal, and her African American husband, Kenan, is analytical and sane, always trying to find the tactful and low-key way out of confrontations.
They are parked in front of Heather and Jim’s upscale house, where they have arranged to meet and talk out the unthinkable situation. But Heather and Jim have opposite values, lifestyles, preferences, politics, and predilections.
Each attempt at outreach – Jim to Keenan and Heather to Madelyn – strikes discordant notes, like ping-pong with a cracked ball. When Jim (a jaw-droppingly funny Kyle Goldman) pitches his interests to Keenan, the volleys challenge and skewer Keenan, (perfectly underplayed by Mark Anthony).
These exchanges climax when the overpoweringly aggressive Jim insists that mild-mannered Keenan see his gun collection. The other halves, Heather and Madelyn (Melody Payne and Flannery Mays) verbally dance in circles around all the ways they need to know and like each other. Heather reveals that they will bear the child and turn it over to the rightful parents, Madelyn and Keenan.
“ . . . Will these fiercely opposite couples finally resolve their botched IVF implant? . . .”
Scenes bounce ahead with minimal set changes. Marimba music resonates with the simplicity of a child’s Lego set. The couples’ opposite natures are reflected in the scenic design of their two different apartments. Jim and Heather live with sleek red furnishings, and aggressive details. Madelyn and Keenan’s bluish apartment is modest but artistic with art on the walls and comfort cushions on the sofa. Their clothes also mimic their life-styles, with contrasts of style and sophistication, and body reveal vs. body cover.
As they journey through Heather’s growing pregnancy, the ladies try bonding over yoga, and the men through hunting. Both Madelyn and Keenan find themselves amazingly more open to the privileged upscale and highly conservative styles of their unexpected benefactors.
Madelyn practically confesses she is not ready to experience and fully embrace motherhood, and Keenan finds he actually enjoys the hunting trip in orange jumpsuits with Jim.
Human Error takes us on a wild ride exploring their differences, with humor but with insight into our own social and relationship challenges to bridge deep and conflicting beliefs. Don’t miss the spot-on acting excellence of the two couples and their excuse for a doctor, who steals all of his scenes.
The play is a rollercoaster of laughs and groans that will leave you with plenty of carnival food for thought.
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ASR Senior Contributor Susan Dunn has been on the executive boards of Hillbarn Theatre, Altarena Playhouse, Berkeley Playhouse, Virago Theatre and Island City Opera, where she is a development director and stage manager. An enthusiastic advocate for new productions and local playwrights, she is a voting member of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, and a recipient of a 2015 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award. Contact: [email protected]
| Production | Human Error |
|---|---|
| Written by | Eric Pfeffinger |
| Directed by | Richard Perez |
| Producing Company | Town Hall Theatre |
| Production Dates | 8/24-9/14 |
| Production Address | 3535 School Street, Lafayette, CA 94549 |
| Website | www.townhalltheatre.com |
| Telephone | (925) 283-1557 |
| Tickets | $42-45 |
| Reviewer Score | Max in each category is 5/5 |
| Overall | 4.5/5 |
| Performance | 4.5/5 |
| Script | 4.5/5 |
| Stagecraft | 3.5/5 |
| Aisle Seat Review Pick? | YES! |