FAUST (go down with all the re$t)
Script by ERA Ensemble
Music by Kid Scientist
Directed by Lucy Cashion and Gabe Taylor
Equally Represented Arts
August 11, 2018
Alicen Moser, Joe Taylor
Photo by Meredith LaBounty
ERA
Equally Represented Arts, or ERA, has kicked off a several month-long collaboration by several local theatre companies called “Faustival“. As the name implies, the theatre companies in question are all producing plays that are to some degree based on the well-known “Faust” story or well-known versions of it, such as those by Marlowe and Goethe. Here, in keeping with ERA’s penchant for experimental mash-ups, their offering, Faust (go down with all the re$t) features elements frome Goethe and from The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, as well as TV game shows and a few elements from other Faust stories. As is usual with ERA, this mixture of sources and creative innovation yields a fascinating result. Even though it tends a little bit to the pretentious at times, for the most part it’s a fun, inventive, and thought-provoking production.
The first unconventional thing about this Faust is its venue. Presented at the Foam bar on Cherokee Street, the production has made the most of its setting and the space provided, creating an immersive experience for the audience that starts at the door. Audience members are greeted by Mephistopheles (WIll Bonfiglio) and encouraged to sign a “contract” that’s full of fine print that includes some funny provisions such as how to return the show if you don’t like it. Also, in keeping with the Faustian theme, it involves “selling your soul”, although with the assurance that you’ll get it back at the end. Audience members then turn their contracts over to God (Grace Landford) and are ushered into the main room of the bar, where they are enouraged to buy drinks, find a seat, and mingle if they wish, like they would at any bar. Alicen Moser, who plays Faust’s long-suffering mistress Margaret, is up front with the band, Kid Scientist, providing the music, singing the “instructions” as the patrons take their seats. Then, the show sets going as Mephistopheles returns as a game show host, featuring Faust (Joe Taylor) and his assistant Wagner (Gabe Taylor) as contestants on a show called “The Pit”, complete with flashy red game board and sound effects. The tale continues through clever use of close-circuit TV, non-linear storytelling, and a classical-tinged rock score with songs from several of the characters. The themes of materialism and love vs. money dominate here, with religious elements and critique as well, with a particular emphasis being on the plight of Margaret, who is the primary victim of Faust’s bargain.
The show features some particuarly strong performances led by Moser as the devoted but frequently ill-treated Margaret, by Joe Taylor as a somewhat clueless Faust, by Gabe Taylor as the eager assistant Wagner, by Langford in a dual role as Margaret’s mother and as a particularly capricious God, and especially by the charismatic Bonfiglio in a gleefully enthusiastic turn as the smarmy Mephistopheles. The production values are eye-catching, with whimsical costumes by Meredith LaBounty, atmospheric lighting and video by Ben Lewis, clever staging by directors Lucy Cashion and Ben Taylor, and a driving score performed with spirit by Kid Scientist. There are some elements, such as the contract and somewhat monotonous intro that can veer toward the pretentious, but for the most part this is another clever, thought-provoking production from the always innovative ERA. It bodes well for the rest of the “Faustival” shows that will follow.
Grace Langford, WIll Bonfiglio
Photo by Meredith LaBounty
ERA
ERA is presenting FAUST (go down with all the re$t) at Foam until August 18, 2018
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