Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nick Robideau’s subversive, playful INANIMATE opens the new Flea

• By drediman
• September 23, 2017
• No Comments

Lacy Allen plays Erica in Nick Robideau’s “Inanimate” at the new Flea

Last night marked my first visit to the Flea’s shiny new home in Tribeca, happily located just blocks away from its much-loved original space. The shiny and upgraded venue’s inaugural production is the romantic comedy Inanimate, a world premiere written by Nick Robideau and featuring the Flea’s resident troupe of eager, young (and multitasking) thespians, the Bats. The premise certainly caught my attention –  Erica is a young woman who has a severe case of Objectùm Sexuality, which means she is sexually oriented towards inanimate objects, particularly one Dairy Queen sign. Over the course of the play’s quick 90 minutes, she comes out to the people closest to her, causing her world (and theirs) to be upheaved. Pique your interest? Well, think Edward Albee’s The Goat (for the subversiveness) with a dash of Romeo and Juliet (for the passionate romance) and an episode of Glee (for the youthful optimism).

At first, I was distracted by these disparate influences and the uncomfortable friction it was creating in my head. Was the playwright just covering up for a lack of confidence in his skills? But as the playful, warm-hearted production wore on (the scrappy, buoyant staging is by Courtney Ulrich), I was taken by how Mr. Robideau was seemingly using familiarity to breed empathy for Erica and her plight. Unlike The Goat, an important play in which Albee uses alienation to build dramatic tension, Inanimate pleads with us to walk side by side with our heroine, and it ultimately succeeds. As Erica and her good friend and fellow Dairy Queen employee, Lacy Allen and Maki Borden are charismatic and very likable, as are the rest of the energetic cast.

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INANIMATE
Off-Broadway, Play
The Flea Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through October 16