At one moment in Jacob Marx Rice’s play, a young woman tells the audience that mental illness is the only disease where the sufferer is criticized, as if contracting it reveals a character flaw. Later in the play, in the depths of depression, she rhetorically asks whether her boyfriend would give up everything — his job, his friends, everything — and stay with her all the time, if he knew that was the only way to save her. Such is the central and sometimes unsettling theme of Chemistry, that, when it comes to mental disorders, the magic between two people sometimes just isn’t enough. Love does not always conquer all.
This is expressed through the excellent performances of two actors from the Cincinnati Playhouse’s Intern Company, Laurie Benning Roberts and Jay Hobson. They are opposite sides of the same damaged coin, one dark, depressed and brutally self-aware and the other manic, optimistic and in complete denial. Unseen doctors offer medications on a trial-and-error basis, but without cures or promises; the ‘chemistry’ from their relationship provides momentary hope at best.
Presented in the very small studio space at the Art Academy, the sparse set consisted of a bed, a table and chair and a Gustav Klimt print on the wall. Director Katie Lupica used these fluidly without attempting to directly evoke location changes. Instead, she made extensive use of presentational blocking of characters’ inner monologues/narration, which constantly reminded the audience of the turmoil they are dealing with.
I found myself aching for both of them, since it was clear they would almost inevitably lose their battle. Special mention as well to a very evocative score and sound design from Mark Van Hare, which effectively mirrored the stresses and pressures of these characters.
While the performances are reason enough to see this production, more impressive perhaps is how the message was delivered very simply, without preaching. The realization that one’s best efforts sometimes just aren’t enough to overcome disease is jarring; but realizing that mental illness is also that sort of disease is this play’s cautionary tale.
Ed Cohen is a freelance director, with much of his recent work with CCM, NKU and small professional theatres around town. In his parallel life, his is a trial attorney in downtown Cincinnati.
Read the official 32-page FRINGE FESTIVAL GUIDE here and find the full performance lineup here.
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2015.
