Monkey, Monkey

Review of the Stern Play

Hello, Dolly! In recent months, this phrase has changed from the title of a popular musical to a buzzword. This past year, man sampled a taste of what it is like to play G-d as scientists achieved the first successful sheep cloning. As with any great advance in history, this monumental event carries with it the profound questions of who we are and what moral and ethical rights we have to meddle with G-d's world. Unfortunately, most people would rather count sheep than address the issues that come attached to genetic engineering. Herein lies the concept of The Stern College Dramatics Society's production of Marsha Sheiness' Monkey Monkey Bottle of Beer, How Many Monkeys Have We Here?

Monkey Monkey centers around five mothers who have volunteered their mentally retarded children to partake in an experiment which will boost their intellectual capabilities to that of a normal child and then some. Two months have passed since the mothers have dropped their sons and daughters off at the hospital and they meet for the first time to pick up their progeny. Each mother is a unique individual and has her own reason for having her child subjected to the experiment. The distinctiveness of the characters allows for interesting confrontation between the women. Mrs. Amber (Sarah Harris), the rich-witch sophisticated upper-class woman is contrasted to Mrs. Luther, (Marina Klochan) the poor religious dominated widow. Mrs. Lewis, (Adrianne Segal) who is a money-hungry miser with an attitude, strongly clashes with Mrs. Evans (Deborah Jeff), the loving mother of Josephine (Cindy Basch-Markovits). Somewhere in midst of these four women, not quite confident of herself or of her involvement with the experiment, is Mrs. Todd (Dorah Fine), the wino. As the five women impatiently wait for their turn to be reunited with their children, numerous altercations occur. One by one, the nurse (Allison Cheryl Witty) ushers the ladies into the doctor's office and they discover their new children. What the women discover may not necessarily be exactly what they anticipated.

The one flaw in this play has to be its characters. The actresses played extremely well off each other and the dialogue was well written. However, the five mothers seemed to be a tad presentational and came across as caricatures rather than characters. This was no more the fault of the actresses than it was of the playwright. Monkey Monkey was written in during the 1970's when genetic engineering was a fanciful dream. The over-the-top quality of the characters fits in well when the script is looked at as a fantasy. However, since we live in the age of Dolly (and Dolly and Dolly and Dolly), science fiction has become science fact and representational characters would suit the play better. Ironically, this one small fault created an even better production. It allowed the players to rise to the challenge of shaping real characters for themselves. The actresses did a fantastic job creating truthful personas.

It is always a treat to attend a play in the Koch auditorium. It is magical to see a cafeteria transformed into a theater. There is a homey feeling there which cannot be found in the Schottenstein Theater. Though they are not as well-to-do as their uptown brothers, SCDS truly makes the most of what little assets they have. These talented women don't need a glitzy light and sound show when presenting a play. With Monkey Monkey Bottle of Beer, How Many Monkeys Have We Here? SCDS once again proves that art can thrive in a technically less-than-adequate environment.