Yockey conquers contemporary theatre with Pluto
It’s early in the season still, but I’m pretty sure that Steve Yockey’s Pluto, now running at Actor’s Express under the direction of Melissa Foulger, is going to be my favorite show. Pluto is the most contemporary, relevant, and yet still somehow weird show that I have seen. Yockey tells a tale of tragedy from a view not seen too often. He takes wacky appliances seemingly on the fritz, a talking dog, and a bit of mania to push the relationships between characters and drive this plot that is dripping with clues and details that make each moment that much more memorable.
It all begins in a normal home, a normal kitchen, well despite the upside down tree blocking access to a section of the house. We see interaction between a mother, Elizabeth (Kathleen Wattis) and son, Bailey (Wyatt Fenner) that could be depicted as also normal. They bicker over Pop-Tart flavors, his fathers death, and the fact that pluto is no longer a planet, come to agreements to disagree, and remain behind their separate walls. But that is the last bit of normalcy that you will find. After initial confrontations, everything starts to bring up questions, you doubt what is happening, and then realize that like the characters, you want to know why it is still 9:30 a.m.
At this point the hints start to connect, as it is all laid out for you amongst gun shots, and now you have seen things and sympathize with a person, that persons family, in a new way, a way less filled with pity and anger. The strangeness is what keeps this play grounded and somewhat light. If we were to take the traditional route with theatre, a theatre of olden days, audience members would have been bombarded with tragedy, death, and grief in a way that was unbearable. Yockey has created devices to allow the audience in, keep them watching, and let them connect through characters and happenings that are unreal.
The entire cast was made up of actors that I couldn’t imagine being replaced by anyone else. Fenner and Wattis took on the task of building up their relationship, and the audience, and then coming down on both sides with a ferocity. Wattis’ honesty and availability on stage was remarkable when faced with a son who has done unfathomable things, and a home that has become unrecognizable. Stephanie Friedman’s extremely manic Maxine held the complexity and rage of someone who has just been torn down and, even though horrified with anger and resentment, can see why this has happened to her.
The stand outs for me had to be those who kept a level head, didn’t pass judgments and acted as the balance, metaphor, and grief counselor in this show. Alison Hastings’ Cerberus and Joe Sykes as Death made the unexplainable completely acceptable. Hastings stood the steady ground as the talking, three headed, mythical dog that has mysteriously come to call Maxine’s kitchen home. Her obedience and devotion to this role is what made it so grand. She was the keeper, the hint maker, she was trying to be a savior and almost a friend. Sykes’ zany, yet even tempered and caring Death will be one of his most memorable roles. His Death was not stereotypical or creepy, he was the kind of Death that you would actually consider going with. He was comforting and strong, he was understanding, and acted as the catalyst that helped the audience understand it all too. Sykes’ made you realize that all things are very, very grey, both dismally, and adversarially.
Pluto is the show that you don’t want to say you missed. It is filled with the kind of thought manifestations that make this type of theatre great, and, of course, with Yockey’s incredible allegiance to character and story. Actor’s Express is running Pluto until November 24.
