Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Steph Del Rosso’s word-drunk FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL dabbles with tough questions

• By drediman
• February 18, 2018
• No Comments

Joseph Huffman, Sarah Chalfie, and Valeria A. Avina in Steph Del Rosso’s “Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill” at The Flea Theater.

What actually happens to us as individuals when we enter into serious, long-term relationships? Do we give up a part of and/or compromise ourselves? And when that relationship ends – as relationships are sometimes prone to do – what then occurs? What’s left and how do fill the gap? It are these latter two questions that are explored by Steph Del Rosso’s restless, word-drunk play Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill at The Flea Theater. In the play, our heroine, Joni, attempts to fill this void through various means – including, but not limited to misguided advice from friends and sexual experimentation.

While Ms. Del Rosso’s play ultimately doesn’t quite hold together – it works more successfully as a series of razor-sharp sketches than it does a play with a proper, big-picture arc – the playwright has a true gift for explosive and expressive wordsmithing. The play also seems interested in delving into other large questions, particularly those regarding identity in this category-obsessed, headline-driven world of ours. I’d like to see Ms. Del Rosso more fully flesh these out; she clearly has the verbal prowess and sense of hilarity to both provoke and entertain.

The young cast (comprised of The Flea’s resident company of actors, The Bats) is excellent, delivering Ms. Del Rosso’s lines with impressive zeal and intelligence. As Joni, Sarah Chalfie delivers an astute everywoman performance that seems just about right. Director Marina McClure moves things along at the same exuberant clip as the script demands.

RECOMMENDED

FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL FILL
Off-Broadway, Play
The Flea Theater
1 hour, 25 minutes (without an intermission)
Through March 4