If The Science of Leaving Omaha makes you feel uncomfortable then this World Premiere succeeds. It is a deeply affecting but frequently disheartening social commentary. Playwright Carter W. Lewis explores so many themes in this tightly developed work: death, love, violence, and in particular the marginalization of a segment of our society. It is a rare play that can convey philosophical weight, drama, and black comedy at the same time, concluding with a breathtaking scene of magical realism. The Science of Leaving Omaha has been under development at the PB Dramaworkshop.
Lewis’ play is brought to life by a cast making their PBD debuts. The director Bruce Linser, who has been fully involved with its development, brings a deep sensitivity and passion to this project, which is clearly obvious from the opening scene.
There is a heightened sense of realism with an eerie dream-like deterministic inevitability as the play unfolds in front of a retort or cremation oven. The “Science” includes details about the cremation process, as the occasional strange sounds from the retort seem to call out (as amusingly noted by the off-stage character “Mrs. B” in the play) “ask not for whom the cremator clunks it clunks for thee.” The action takes place in real time late one night in this macabre setting. The retort becomes a looming character onto itself and the technical details of its operation a metaphor for getting out of Omaha.
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| Nicholas-Tyler Corbin and Georgi James Photo by Tim Stephien |
Two young people, each with issues of finding a place in
a society that seems to offer them little hope or opportunity, are thrown
together by chance. There is no shortage
of adversity in their lives, simply because of parents and birthplace. Iris, played by Georgi James, is minding the
nighttime basement office of a crematorium as the owner, “Mrs. B is super
religious, and she thinks no one should crossover alone.” James channels her character’s frustration, as
she sits there working on an essay which she needs to qualify for her GED, but
clearly this is a discouraging struggle for her and she feels marooned in Omaha. James’ outstanding performance captures the
anxiety of her character, along with her kookiness. It is a particularly difficult part as her
halting speech and erratic, fragile personality are purposely abstruse and she is on stage for the entire play.
There is a body bag there that night holding Ruth Ellen who was shot while on the back of a motorcycle driven by Baker, played by Nicholas-Tyler Corbin, as they were escaping from a bar. Ruth Ellen was Baker’s wife for only one day. He breaks into the crematorium to see her and make sure Ruth Ellen would “approve” of how her body is being handled, wanting to know about the details of her impending cremation. Corbin flawlessly plays the volatile yet sensitive Baker, who also has been looking for answers to an amorphic future. The actor projects a palpable sense of grief along with his anger at the system. He played baseball and was hoping for a scholarship but found out his high school taught him nothing. Anger, because he is stranded in Omaha where there are “lame ass people workin’ lame ass jobs n’ doin’ a lame ass job of it all.”
What begins as, possibly, a set up for more violence develops into a story of kindred spirits, Iris even seeing the possibility of running away from a life without opportunity with this stranger. She’s quite jealous of Ruth Ellen as she sees how much she is loved. Iris, however, does have a close relationship with Mrs. B, the owner of the Belladonna Funeral Home, who has assumed a motherly protective relationship to Iris.
Baker has been on the run ever since his last job as a ward attendant at “Lasting Hope Recovery Center,” yet another ironic touch, “with the young crazies.” He and Ruth Ellen were bound for Albuquerque before their encounter with the police. There are shifting moods in the play, ebbing and flowing with Baker’s volatility. He makes it clear he’s mad at the world, not Iris.
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| Merrina Millsapp and Georgi James Photo by Tim Stephien |
Into the mix comes the night watchperson, “Security Sally” poignantly performed by Merrina Millsapp, who has never imagined she would ever actually have to draw her gun in her part time job. She is yet another victim of society, raising children as a single parent, having to take this night job to survive. But she is yet another “protector” of Iris and was assigned to a mall where Iris once had a melt-down and whose shame was captured on social media which went viral.
The building tension is palpable and foreboding, the resolution surprising but fated as Iris – tearfully and plaintively delivered by James -- beseeches advice from the remote, offstage Mrs. B: “I mean, damn. Damn Mrs. B, I don’t know what to do, I just–Oh Mrs. B, I’m so scared.” The best advice Mrs. B can give is to allow her to put on one of her opera records, which has been off limits, the music soaring at the conclusion. Mrs. B clearly has aided Iris, given her a job (actually created one for her), and wants to help her succeed. Could Mrs. B be a surrogate for a compassionate but powerless god?
The Scenic design by Michael Amico reflects the morose nature of the play, the basement of a funeral home owned by a Catholic Italian American family. There is a replica of a cremation oven almost front-and-center and “a gurney garage” or what Iris amusingly calls “the wine cellar,” a place to temporarily put a body behind velvet red curtains. Family pictures are scattered about (Amico uses ones of his own family), as well as a portrait of Jesus. A sign hangs prominently, “Fire is the most tolerable third party,” which Henry David Thoreau meant for two people huddling around a campfire. It has a more profound meaning here.
Kirk Bookman’s lighting design is critical, insightful, full flat light in the middle of the night in a basement balanced with spots following the actors, but breathtaking when red hot lighting emanates from the open retort.
Sound design by Roger Arnold cleverly captures the strange clunking sounds of the retort, some unexpected, helping to build the tension. There are sounds of metal expanding and flames heating up as well as the creak of the opening door.
Brian O’Keefe, the indefatigable costume designer captures the everyday dress of two unmoored contemporary young people, naturalistic and appropriate. Iris is in jeans and a plaid shirt, poor serviceable clothing while Baker has that worn LL Bean look with ripped-knee jeans.
Director Bruce Linser pours his heart and soul into this piece, the action flowing and pausing where appropriate, the tension rising and falling like waves in an agitated ocean. Both characters have their quiet contemplative moments and outbursts as well. He succeeds but be prepared for an intentionally bumpy ride.
So many plays are about the pursuit of the American Dream. This one deals with the struggle for mere survival; there are no aspirations other than escape. The Science of Omaha dramatically illustrates what happens when we abandon a large swath of our society, deprive them of opportunity and education, subject them to the microscope of endless bullying on social media, and corporate America adopts them as their servants at low-paying fast food or superstore jobs. Such as the extreme classes of H.G. Well’s Time Machine where the underground Morlocks do the menial work to benefit the privileged, hedonistic Eloi, two classes of people that have become almost different species. This is America today and the playwright perfectly captures the essence and the tragedy of the consequences.
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| Nicholas-Tyler Corbin and Georgi James Photo by Tim Stephien |
