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Peer Reviews Shot Me Down Entire contents are copyright © 2007, David DeSpain. All rights reserved.
Finnigan Productions has opened up a new play at the MeX Theatre with a bang. Quite a few bangs, actually. No one escapes being caught in the crosshairs during this show. Not even the audience. Shot Me Down is a play set in the not-too-distant future where the average citizen not only owns firearms, but utilizes them on a regular basis. Even those who appear to resent the violent nature of what society has become turn to the gun as a means of making their point. Government-sanctioned killings have become the norm; you only need a small excuse, and with Charlton Heston as the elected leader of the new world, it appears as though things can only get worse. There is very little subtlety at work here. If you walk away from this play not believing guns are dangerous, then you just haven’t been paying attention. The play is very Shakespearean in its littering of the stage with the bodies of the fallen. Shot Me Down makes no attempt to gloss over what the author sees as the natural result of a society that turns to guns as a means of resolving its conflicts. Several guns are pried from the cold, dead hands of the characters. It is also Shakespearean in its use of comedic moments to cleanse the palate between bouts of heavy dialogue concerning heavy questions. Not to say that this show has reached the level of Shakespeare, but the author must surely be a fan of the Bard. Though once or twice there were definite problems with actors being loud enough, the acting overall is consistent throughout. There were obviously some who gave stronger performances than others. Erica McClure was quite good in the role of Yvonne, and Eli Keel was a fine soldier named California. Leah Roberts as Eunid could have easily stolen the show had her character remained light and playful -- but that was the ‘thing’ with this play. No one is who they first appear to be. There was so much double-crossing and back-stabbing and changing of sides that I felt that I needed a program to keep up. In the end it may not matter, but a plot can only take so many twists before it becomes impossible to navigate. Shot Me Down is a play with a message, and if you are a fan of that message you will probably enjoy this production. Those with ambivalent or opposing views may find its heavy-handedness a tad too much to take. It is showing at the MeX Theatre in the Kentucky Center for the Arts now through September 8th, and tickets can be had by calling 584-7777. Shot Me Down August 31 - September 8, 2007 Posted Sept. 2, 2007
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