A scene from Slaughterhouse Five.
Space war-p
By Miranda Inganni
Directed by the estimable stage director, Tiger Reel (who also does the sound and set design), Eric Simonson's stage adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five gets its West Coast premiere by Action! Theatre Company.
One of the best American novels of the past 50 years, Vonnegut's novel about a man named Billy Pilgrim who becomes "unstuck in time" tells one man's story about life, love, war and alien abduction.
With a running time of about 90 minutes with no intermission, this Slaughterhouse Five adaptation delves into the mind of a man traumatized by the American bombing of Dresden, Germany and its effect on his relations -- past, present and future.
Introduced by "Man" (Raymond Donahey), we meet three stages of Billy Pilgrim simultaneously, played by Owen Sholar, A.J. Diamond and Don Schlossman as the young, aging, and aged character respectively. He is obsessed with the fictional work of the fictional Kilgore Trout, who, in turn, is seemingly obsessed with writing alien pulp fiction. So it goes, so it plays.
By Miranda Inganni
Directed by the estimable stage director, Tiger Reel (who also does the sound and set design), Eric Simonson's stage adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five gets its West Coast premiere by Action! Theatre Company.
One of the best American novels of the past 50 years, Vonnegut's novel about a man named Billy Pilgrim who becomes "unstuck in time" tells one man's story about life, love, war and alien abduction.
With a running time of about 90 minutes with no intermission, this Slaughterhouse Five adaptation delves into the mind of a man traumatized by the American bombing of Dresden, Germany and its effect on his relations -- past, present and future.
Introduced by "Man" (Raymond Donahey), we meet three stages of Billy Pilgrim simultaneously, played by Owen Sholar, A.J. Diamond and Don Schlossman as the young, aging, and aged character respectively. He is obsessed with the fictional work of the fictional Kilgore Trout, who, in turn, is seemingly obsessed with writing alien pulp fiction. So it goes, so it plays.
Extremely well choreographed and directed, the potentially disjointed story line flows seamlessly through time and space (both literally and figuratively). Because of the size of the theater, this production has an element of interactivity. While most of the cast fits the stage and story very well -- especially the three actors who play Billy: Warren Davis, Brian Helm, Tom Metcalf and Claudia Melatini -- there are a few cast members over doing it, especially considering the small space the Studio-Stage Theatre. Speaking of the cast, Vonnegut's youngest daughter, Lily, also stars in the production.
In light of the US's current military involvement in (invasion of) Iraq and Afghanistan, this play is a timeless reminder of the effects of war on not only an individual, but an entire generation. But as much as it is a cautionary tale of war, it still stands as a reminder of how life goes on. So it goes. When Billy (and Kurt) returns to post-war Germany, he is not just greeted by a place that looks like any sprawling midwest town -- except for the fact that it has "tons of human bone meal in the ground" -- but also by blooming trees and even the birds that still sing. "Poo-tee-weet" indeed.
Slaughterhouse Five runs through Oct. 23 at Studio-Stage Theatre, 520 N. Western Ave., Los Angeles, Ca. 90004. For more information: 213/393-5638.
