Kurt Vonnegut’s MAKE UP YOUR MIND (playing
through Nov. 30th) was cobbled together by Nicky Silver from comic
fragments Vonnegut never finished. The author, most famous for his novels,
especially Slaughterhouse-Five, died in 2007 without revisiting the
material. MAKE UP YOUR MIND marks the beginning of SpeakEasy Stage’s commitment
to produce new works in addition to their regular season productions. Not many
theaters are willing to take a chance on new plays so SpeakEasy is to be
commended.
Director Cliff Fannin Baker’s production of
MAKE UP YOUR MIND, alas, is paced so slowly and styled so realistically, that
the outrageous humor mostly falls flat. As I watched, I wondered if a “Saturday
Night Live” rapid, over the top delivery of the lines couldn’t have helped to
punch it up, although the dialogue is peculiarly awkward and, I’m sorry to say,
the female lead is miscast. She simply wasn’t funny—and she was up against two
of the best comic actors in town, Richard Snee and Barlow Adamson.
The premise is amusing enough: Adamson’s
character treats indecisive patients and employs an enforcer to keep them on
track—or put them in traction if they veer off. Unfortunately MAKE UP YOUR MIND
is so heavy handed that even Snee and Adamson, try as they might, couldn’t keep
it afloat.
