"The Effect" at Jungle Theater

In my day job, I work in clinical trials. I'm not a researcher in the clinics working with patients, I sit at home in my living room analyzing the data they collect. But still, the themes and situations in the brilliant play The Effect are familiar and fascinating to me. Written by Lucy Prebble, a writer and executive producer on the brilliant and brutal HBO show Succession, the play asks thorny and relevant questions about the ethics of clinical research, for-profit pharmaceutical companies, and the health care industry in general. It also explores the very stuff that makes us human, our feelings and emotions, and if that resides in our brain, or in our heart, or in situations or the substances we're taking. (If you're getting Severance vibes, you're not alone.) In short, The Effect is my favorite kind of play - smart and thought-provoking, asking difficult questions and not answering them, populated with complex, interesting, and engaging characters. And as expected, Jungle Theater's production really couldn't be better, with a fantastic four-person cast and spot-on design. If you like smart, thoughtful, relevant plays, The Effect is not to be missed (continuing through the end of March).

"Cambodian Rock Band" by Theater Mu and Jungle Theater

Originally planned for summer 2020, the Theater Mu / Jungle Theater co-production of Lauren Yee's play with music Cambodian Rock Band finally hits the stage at the Jungle, and to say it's worth the wait is an understatement. Part rock concert, part history lesson, part family dramedy, Cambodian Rock Band explores the complicated and tragic history of Cambodia in the latter half of the 20th Century through the lens of music, art, and one specific family. It's both an epic and an intimate story, and features fabulously unique music by the Cambodian indie rock band Dengue Fever, with fantastic performances by the mostly local and all Asian American cast. It's playing through the end of July, so you have plenty of time and no excuse not to see this ingenious new, innovative, and important work of music-theater.

"Today is My Birthday," a Live Virtual Play from Theater Mu

cover of virtual program
(photo by Rich Ryan)

In their first full production in the virtual space, Theater Mu has brought us something completely unique, that I don't think we've seen before in #TCTheater. I have seen not a little virtual theater in the last year, which ranges from recordings of pre-pandemic shows, to simple Zoom readings, to shows created specifically for streaming. But I have not previously seen a live production on this scale, with actors in six different locations across the country, using multiple areas in their homes, along with green screens, virtual backgrounds, sound cues, split screens, and overlayed images in an incredibly ambitious and successful technical feat. Today is My Birthday is truly innovative storytelling in a way that's never been seen before.