Octet

Octet is playing at the Signature Theatre located at 420 West 42nd Street. It runs one hour forty minutes no intermission. The play closes on June 23, 2019.

David Malloy is the playwright. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 2017 for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.

We are in what seems to be the basement of a church. Coffee is on the top level. Bottle water is there too.

There must have been a bingo game there. Paula (Starr Busby) is picking up the cards and number balls. Tables are being removed.

Eight chairs are being place in a circle. One by one the chairs are being filled. At first you think it’s an AA meeting but it’s not.

Paula is in charged. She tells everyone to sing the hymn Swing Low Sweet Chariot. When they are finished she asks if anyone has anything to say. Jessica (Margo Seibert) tells everyone how she spends so much time on the computer going to different sites. Henry (Alex Gibson) tells how he spends time playing candy games.

When no one else opens up Paula tells them how her husband and her read in bed and she can’t sleep because of the light. So I guess there not reading from a real book.

They sing another hymn.

Karly (Kim Black) tell them she likes going to different dating sites. Ed said he like going to different dating sites because he loves sex.

Marvin (J.D. Mollison) has a new baby. He is a scientist. When he is woken and can’t go back to sleep he searches the internet to find things that explain the scientific reason for its existence. When he has an experience with God he shares it with his co-workers. They are having the same experience.

Toby (Justin Gregory Lopez) tells everyone the different feelings he has.

Paula tells them its tea time. Everyone takes a cup of tea; she puts a drop of something in each cup. New comer Velma (Kuhoo Verma) questions what it is. She tells her it’s a psychedelic drug that will bring them back for five minutes to the way they first were with a clear mind. While everyone is sleeping Velma tells us of someone she met on the internet that lives far away. That person thinks she is pretty and smart.

When everyone awakes they sing another hymn. Paula tells them when they meet in a week it will be in another place. Everyone starts leaving.

The only thing I can say is it is weird. It went over my head. Some of the stories the characters told you, you have to interpret what their telling you. If you don’t, you will be lost.

The story Marvin told made little sense till it went off the wall.

The cast was great. Adam Bashian has a beautiful voice.

Review by Rozana Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for photos. Click in photos for this and other shows.