Bramble Theater Company gets wild with THE PETS

On October 18, 2011, the owner of Muskingum County Animal Farm, 62-year-old Terry Thompson, released 50 exotic animals into the Ohio countryside before taking his own life. To add to the tragedy, most of the animals were subsequently killed by local officials, as they were large predators. The public outcry led to new regulations around owning and housing exotic animals.

Playwright Dizzy Turek uses this tragedy as the often surreal, occasionally poignant and very funny backdrop for a story focused on each person’s desire to choose their own prison, and what the cost can be.

When the story begins, a handful of zoo animals find themselves unexpectedly free for the first time in their lives, surrounded by corn, highways and powerlines. The intimate Nest Theater at the Bramble is strung in little stuffies and the actors all wear a tail; a few have clothes in the palette of their animal self – but otherwise the stage is spare, with chairs and a few extra stuffies the only real props. While it might have been helpful to lean in a little more to their animal appearance, the actors do also make varying choices in terms of physicality and vocalizations to let the audience know what sort of animal they are, some more obvious than others.

The play focuses on three short story lines as they weave in and out of each other; first, the wild cats (a commanding Francis Miller, a lithe and sparkling Kylie Anderson and an expressive Capri Gehred-O’Connell) have an ongoing argument on what to do with their freedom, and whether, after years in front of a TV, they are more than their wild selves, second, a small, very religious monkey (an unhinged Suzy Krueckeberg) is desperately grateful to her wild monkey god to beablet to settle into an oak tree, and third, a young Jehova’s Witness (played charmingly by Alice Wu), wanders the road near the zoo, trying to fulfill her mission and being nudged lovingly and gently by a vision of St. Francis of Assisi to another mission entirely.

If it all sounds a bit wacky, it is. But much like Animal Farm, Zootopia, Charlotte’s Web, or any cartoon where an animal wears a top without pants, THE PETS uses the goofy, surreal personification of animals to explore issues that are at the heart of being human, or perhaps simply, being a person. Each of the characters is seeking connection, community and freedom – but, rather bleakly, it becomes clear that “freedom” never comes without a cost, and the best most of us can do is either take part in choosing our cage, or rage against the dying of the light – however briefly. As the animals careen through the new, big world they’ve found, or in the case of the young Jehovah’s Witness stumble awkwardly, new relationships are formed. For example, Alexander Attea, as what can only be described as a wolf-bro, is a musician and poet who finally finds a muse. Happily for everyone in the audience, the music that comes out of him is late 90’s alternative rock. Like the tiny, puppet birds on the edges of the room, I could not resist singing along to Third Eye Blind and Oasis, among others. Johnard Washington is a thoughtful and gentle bear who forges new and lasting friendships with several of the big cats he comes across. Haley Bolithon is the shy, sweet and angelic Baboon, who makes a new best friend and falls in love all in one day. Bolithon’s character has the least obvious animal characteristics and some of the most pop culture references, since she was allowed in her owner’s house and therefore had lots of tv access. The real philosopher of the group though is Kylie Anderson’s Lion, who struggles with how to marry her new-found freedom to her ideals as a well-informed PBS viewer. All the characters are loved and fretted over by St. Francis of Assisi (a warm Rasheeda Denise), who jumps from story line to story line to provide emotional support.

Another major theme is that of faith. St. Francis isn’t the only holy character to be invoked, as the monkey and the wild cats each have a god of their own, and the Jehovah’s Witness gets an A for effort when it comes to sharing the word of Jehovah. Initially, it was a little difficult to see what all the varying holy figures and faiths had to do with a story of freedom and found family – no character is particularly protected, whether they have a god or not, and the presence of faith does not lend anyone more confidence or certainty than anyone else. As the story comes to its conclusion, each character experiences the consequences of their own personal choices, some of which were guided by their faith in a higher power, and some by their own conscience.

While the deeper themes may make it seem difficult to describe this play as “wacky” it does manage to keep things ridiculous enough to not be weighed down by them. The many pop-culture references, 90’s song sing-alongs and visual gags are a lot of fun to be a part of, and despite the fact that the production I saw was still workshopping, the actors moved around the stage and delivered their lines with a casual grace and confidence that made it feel like they were much further into the production. There are several fight scenes that Anderson shines in with appropriately feline grace and Attea’s full throated versions of 90’s classics is a lot of fun. There are a few hiccups, for example, though each character has a name, the program only lists the animals by type, which led to some confusion, as I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out which actor was playing the mountain lion and which the “regular” lion, etc., since they referred to each other by name almost exclusively. That said, the cast bursts with energy and life, the cat-acting may be some of the best I’ve seen – shout out to Gehred-O’Connell for randomly kneading a wall at one point, and the play weaves in enough pop culture, little asides to the audience, and bizarre religious ceremonies to keep everyone entertained for the duration. Independent theater is often strange and entertaining, but it is rarely this smart and funny as well.  THE PETS is worth making time for, and the conversation to be had afterwards will be a good one.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

The Pets will be performed at the Bramble Arts Loft, 5545 N. Clark St., from February 11 to March 1. Weekday and Saturday performances will take place at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $5 to $35 and can be purchased online at brambletheatre.org.