ok guys. i know. i know. but… ive gotten the lousy ones (hi charles isherwood) so… im kind of… stunned and have to crow. The best thing about Informed Consent, the engrossing new work by Deborah Zoe Laufer... is the way the moral and ethical ground of the play constantly shifts beneath your feet. Watching it is like trying to balance on a fault line. One moment, all is quiet; the next, youre sent sprawling. Laufer takes the ripped-from-the-headlines facts of the conflict and creates something entirely new, like cells dividing and replicating. The play is both cerebral and theatrical, making its case to head and heart: It is steeped in cutting-edge and forward-looking science – cancer treatments tailored to our individual DNA – yet grounded by the Old World comforts of religion and family and tales of love at first sight. Rarely are female protagonists – scratch that, female protagonists who are mothers – this spikey and flawed. Informed Consent is brimming with big ideas, and the playwright doesnt take the easy route by making Jillian hero or villain. And thank the gods of earth and sky she doesnt portray the Havasupai as noble, mute victims. Its the kind of work live theater needs more of – urgent, challenging and of the moment, grappling with concepts that scare us and intrigue us. Laufer doesnt let us off the hook, either, by telling us what to think. Just when you are siding with the stung tribe, protective Graham or logical Jillian, Laufer sends out a seismic wave and sets the earth to rumbling.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Apr 2014 01:24:42 +0000
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