The Happiest Medium Review by guest contributor Linnea Covington
Whether you’re M4W, W4M, M4M, or W4W, there is something for everyone in Missed Connections: An Exploration Into The Online Postings Of Desperate Romantics. The play consists of five actors—Jennifer Jean Anderson, Ricky Dunlop, Lauren Roth, Jake McKenna, and Julia Mattison—five Kindles, a handful of accents, and a whole lot of sass. The premise proved simple: scour Craigslist for the best and the worst missed connections postings. For those of you who don’t know what a ‘missed connection’ is, it’s an electronic posting on a website that people do when they see someone and 1) didn’t manage to talk to them, or 2) lost contact with them. It also has become the sort of place where people send long, steamy rants as a sort of digital therapy.
Most of the show is improv, each actor takes turns reading headlines and then another player dramatizes the situation. McKenna, who just returned from the 12th national tour of the musical CATS, did one scenario where a man watches a girl go to town on a Snickers bar. Only, he did it in a flawless Jamaican accent. Laughter ensued, a reaction that continued throughout the skit. Anderson also mastered the art of comedic voices and many of the characters she played were from the South or lived in a trailer park. Not that you know they are hicks, but it’s the clever persona she gives them that makes you believe they are. In the same vein, guest actress Mattison (who is making her Broadway debut in Godspell) perfected the neurotic female-male voice, an excellent choice when reading the part of the creepy man watching his neighbor undress. Yes, people really post things like that.
Save for Mattison, the show was created by the performers and presented for the first time last April. Other guests have included Suellen Vance and another Godspell actor, George Salazar. The best thing about the show is its improv nature and getting to hear the outlandish things these people say. I mean, how many M4M, “I want your balls on my face” posts can there be? Based on this play, a lot. Lucky for the team behind the show, they will always have fresh material as long as Craigslist continues on and people use public forums to express themselves. Thank goodness.
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Missed Connections: An Exploration Into The Online Postings Of Desperate Romantics Company: Royanth Productions Directed by: Ricky Dunlop Mar 01, 10:30PM Mar 04, 1:00PM $14.00 The Kraine Theater~~~
The 2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL will run February 22-March 4 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A). Tickets to all shows may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.
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