Encountering a piece of dystopian fiction, it’s always fascinating to see what an author imagines the human race will be able to do without. (If there is a human race, of course.) A few minutes into Nick Mecikalski’s timely, if somewhat by the numbers, satire “Really Really Gorgeous,” we learn that a catastrophic flood has left Washington, the entire Pacific time zone and New York City underwater.
The government and media have moved to Cleveland, where the White House now stands. The new capital is surrounded by a border wall, and no unauthorized guests may enter unless they’re invited by the president.
Such invitations are rare, but on the night the play begins, one is being offered to a lucky poet, like a golden ticket from Willy Wonka. Pen (Sophie Becker) is particularly proud of her poem, with a name like that who can blame her? Her partner, Mar (Amber Jaunai), isn’t much of a writer but is always there to be supportive.
The two fall asleep in front of “American Idol.” (Televised music contests are one thing that hasn’t disappeared.) Pen wakes up in a panic, realizing she forgot to submit her poem. She thinks she’s still dreaming when it’s announced that Mar has won and will be going to Cleveland.
The perceived betrayal, and its unspoken racial dynamic — Mar is black, and Pen is white — would have made for a compelling play on its own. Instead Mecikalski wants to cover too many hot topics in 90 minutes. The richness of detail, including digs at TV series, like “60 Minutes” and “Meet the Press,” that never cease to exist, add layers to the world but little to the plot.
As we watch Mar go from prizewinner to poet laureate to an official in the chaotic government (that poets are necessary is the play’s grandest contention) Pen has ideas of her own. Believing herself the Everyman destined to correct the corruption of the elites, she intends to sneak into Cleveland and share her poetry.
Presented on a small stage at the Tank, “Really Really Gorgeous” benefits from the deft directorial hand of Miranda Haymon, who showed her ability to carefully set entire universes in tiny spaces in her 2019 adaptation of Kafka’s “In the Penal Colony.”
The efficient set design — two living rooms, one modest and the other modern — is by Crushed Red. Taylor Lilly’s lighting is stark and eerie, especially when it emphasizes the subtle but striking differences in Alice Tavener’s costumes.
Becker brings a sincerity to Pen that makes for a delightful contrast with the aloof charm Jaunai provides Mar. A hilarious Giselle LeBleu Gant plays the Announcer, who fulfills the role of presenter on every possible occasion. The three actors populate the drowned and new worlds, seeming to multiply and appear out of nowhere.
If only more of “Really Really Gorgeous” were more like its tensest scene, with Pen and Mar in a video chat: They begin looking at screens and end staring straight at each other, as if preparing for a duel.
Instead the play comes to an abrupt conclusion. We are left adrift, as if waiting to find that safe spot of dry land.
Really Really Gorgeous
Through Feb. 9 at The Tank, Manhattan; thetanknyc.org. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Source: Theater - nytimes.com
