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Reviews
Fight Girl Battle World Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents are copyright © 2009 Keith Waits. All rights reserved.
The director of this production, Scott Davis, announces in his program notes that Fight Girl Battle World is, "a perfect preview for what is to come," in this artistic collaboration between Art Sanctuary and The Alley Theater, and that it represents a new genre in theater; "Sci-fi Geek Combat Theater." It is certainly a script chock-full of knowing references to most any sci-fi touchstone you might care to name, including Star Trek and Star Wars, and endeavors to marry the cheap, campy tone of classic pulp serials from the 1940's like Buck Rodgers and Flash Gordon, with a post-modern, "hipsters" sensibility. If it misses the mark somewhat, it doesn't seem for lack of understanding the characteristics of the unusual and offbeat genre. The plot establishes that homo-sapiens have been rendered all but extinct after some large scale conflict called, "The Human Wars," One of the military leaders responsible for the genocide, General Dah'n, is now remorseful and has sought out a rare human female, E-V, in an effort to pair her with a male and repopulate the species. Trouble is, E-V is a tough and independent combatant on a planet called Battle World, where gladiatorial contests are staged, pitting alien against alien for blood sport. She has no desire to mate with anyone, least of all the lone human male, a violent and ruthless mercenary called Adon-Ra. From there the story becomes complicated by a host of other oddball characters, but the details of the plot in a play like this are almost beside the point. The fun is in the abundance of geek-friendly details and arch, satirical tone the script achieves. I think Mr. Davis has the right ideas about how to handle this material, but inconsistency dogs his staging. Make no mistake, it would be easy to underestimate the difficulty of pulling off this sort of thing, which, when done correctly, should look a lark, but requires just as much discipline and hard work as more traditional theatre. The stage design is clever in using video and cutaway windows in the appropriately cheap-looking cardboard sets and the best visual effects utilize simple but suggestive props and costumes; a prison cell, for example, is easily defined by some pieces of vertical tubing placed on a lower level of the stage. He also makes good use of the expansive performance space to stage chase and combat scenes, pushing the action quite literally into the audience's laps with abandon. But here is where some of the problems begin. The script contains several moments of pure action wherein the cast moved awkwardly through under-choreographed fight direction that cried out for faster pace and more daring. Pace was also an issue in much of the more standard character interaction, as several times actors dropped cues and allowed empty spaces to occupy the stage. The whole thing would have played much better if it simply moved faster. The actors seemed game, although some miscasting marred the overall effect. Felicia Corbet was a winning presence as E-V, but she failed to convince as a battle-hardened and cynical action hero. I particularly liked the work of Todd Ziegler as the robot LC-4, perfectly capturing the superiority of the mechanical but still sentient life-form with great humanity, and Ray Robinson knew how to play the superciliousness of his multiple characters. Hallie Kirk had some good moments as J'an, and Tomi Thorn brought some tart and acidic delivery to her evil G'Bril. Shawn Slone also did well by General Dah'n, displaying a sure understanding of the genre and maintaining his dignity within his silly costume. To be clear, the costumes should ABSOLUTELY be silly, and on this count the production was on target, but it is no small challenge for the cast, I am sure. But what seemed missing overall from the performances was an unfettered, go-for-broke commitment to playing the self-conscious style that the director seems to be striving for. This is a script awash in self-referential popular culture and, while it shouldn't be played with any less commitment to character than you would expect in so-called "serious" theater, it requires a sense of movement and physical profile that was only intermittently on display opening night. It seems that the blocking specifically calls for it, but things were always just a little bit off throughout the evening. But getting back to the silliness; this is the ace-in-the-hole for Fight Girl Battle World, and if one enters the theater open to it, there is fun to be had. Several audience members laughed heartily, and two young girls sitting at the very front seemed delighted by the play. Despite this production's shortcomings, I commend Mr. Davis and his collaborators for their commitment to this type of alternative theater and hope they keep it coming.
Alley Theatre
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