DISTRACTED a Must See at Theatreworks

Mama (Rebecca Dines, right) asks Dr. Jinks (Cassidy Brown, left) whether Van Gogh would have been as creative on Ritalin in the regional premiere of DISTRACTED at TheatreWorks.

DISTRACTED: Comedy/Drama by Lisa Loomer, directed by Armando Molina. TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts 500 Castro Street (at Mercy)
(650) 903-6000 or visit www.theatreworks.org. Through April 26.

DISTRACTED IS THEATER AT ITS BEST

Theatre should educate as well as entertain and TheatreWorks’ stunning production of Distracted fits the bill. It is a lesson taught with humor that you will long remember, while being treated to a tour de force acting job by TheatreWorks/Bay Area favorite Rebecca Dines, making it a must see show. Attending should be required of all medical students before they graduate.

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) has received a great deal of press since there is still no definitive diagnosis and psychiatrists have added “hysteria” to the classification, now called AD/HD. Ritalin, a mental stimulant is the most frequently used medication. The questions that befuddle Mama (Dines) and Dad (Robert Yako) are does their 9-year-old son Jesse (Gabriel Hoffman) have AD/HD and if so, should he be medicated? If his disruptive classroom behavior is not curbed, he will be bounced from school.

Mama and Papa go through agony making this decision. Dad wants a “normal boy” and defends Jesse’s energetic behavior as “Boys will be boys.” Mama leaves no stone unturned to understand AD/HD starting with a Google internet search and seeking those who theoretically are “experts” in the field. What prevents the play from becoming tedious is Dines’ being on stage the entire play. Loomer cleverly uses the device of breaking the fourth wall sharing comments or asking rhetorical questions from the audience. Her performance would garner a Tony Award if she were playing the role in the ongoing Broadway production. Her individual monologs are pitch-perfect as are her interactions with the doctors, teachers and her neighbors. Dena Martinez, Elizabeth Carter and Cassidy Brown play multiple roles, each giving great performances adding layers of satirical humor. Suzanne Grodner as Vera, the bi-polar in-your-face, over medicated neighbor is the audience favorite. Cassidy Brown as the psychiatrist with a history of ADD is hysterical as he breaks the fourth wall challenging the audience.

A great example of Loomer’s biting, witty satire is displayed when Mama asked the psychiatrist the test results of using a certain medication, he responds with an equivocal “The results are anecdotal.” Mama turns to the audience, “When they say anecdotal, they mean bullshit.” He defensively spouts, “We are not allowed to test drugs on children.” Really? Similar zingers abound with bards aimed at teachers, holistic practitioners, homeopathy, those advocating behavior modification, nutritionists (the Dr. Feingold diet), allergists and others.

Unlike many plays where the title enters into the dialog in the second act, the word “distracted” surfaces early and often in this play. Even before the first word is uttered, you hear repetitive hip-hop music blaring from three huge video screens flashing images that emphasize the distraction of our hectic surroundings. Scenic designer Melpomene Katakalos must share credit for the over powering design with video designer Jason H. Thompson who uses the screens to provide cogent and satirical depth to various scenes such as the Impressionist paintings for a doctors office and the famous self portrait, with an ear missing, by Van Gough, in the psychiatrist’s office. Although the acting area is a minimalist set with a three-step platform center and the right and left sides cleverly used to roll out simple props and furniture by the actors or black clad stage hands allowing director Molina to keep the action moving smoothly.
Running time 2 hours with intermission.
Kedar K Adour
Courtesy of www.theathreworldinternetmagazine.com