There's a whole lot to chew on and mull over in Colorful World, the new play by James
Comtois, but despite some great ideas and wonderful performances, the show is confusing and
doesn't effectively hit all its marks.
Inspired by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' genre-busting graphic novel The Watchmen, the show takes place in an
alternate universe continuity from our own.
In 1988, a man discovered he was impervious to pain and his skin could
deflect bullets. At first he went out on
the streets of New York as a vigilante, but
then he was hired by the government and put to work as a symbol of America-
given the name Overman (taken from the correct translation of Nietzsche's "Übermensch", more usually translated as
"Superman"). Then, with the development
of Kevril, a lightweight Kevlar-like fabric, a rash of costumed vigilantes took
to the streets in the '90s, among them Ramses, Tigress, Peacekeeper and Johnny
Patriot; some were conscripted by the government along with Overman into a justice league called
the Alliance of Champions and all others were demoted to "costumed supervillain" and terminated. Now it's 2005, the Alliance has been
dissolved, Ramses has become a millionaire businessman, Tigress has a bum knee
and has moved to Brooklyn, and Johnny Patriot
and Peacekeeper are dead (Peacekeeper's suicide opens the play). Only Overman (the only one with real superpowers)
is still active, but seems to have disappeared or gone on vacation.
…Which is a little
confusing, but would be all well and good, if Comtois' storytelling were not so
uneven. All the above backstory is delivered in scattershot exposition through
flashbacks and television/radio announcements, along with various details about
the world we're in- NASA has a space shuttle on its way to Mars, The World
Trade Center is still standing, the war with Iraq is ending, Electric cars are
the norm, an Indian Fast Food takeout chain is hugely popular... Then suddenly, literally halfway through the
first act, some characters begin direct address to the audience, with
expository monologues that are sometimes many pages long. Some subplots are referenced then not
referred to again, characters appear in Act II who were barely mentioned in Act
I, and characters' motivations are confusing and unclear. The focus keeps shifting, and the show
doesn't keep to a consistent style or tone, going from reverence for
superheroes to mockery of them. Because it's a deconstruction of Watchmen, which was itself a deconstruction of MLJ Comics' superhero stories, the idea ends up as weak as a photocopy of a photocopy. Which is
a shame, since so much about this play is good.
It's witty and funny in places, and its examination of governmental and
media corruption of superheroic ideals is impressive and intriguing. Comtois examines the psychological problems
of his uncaped crusaders and lampshades some of the sillier superhero tropes
with a fan's nitpicky delight. With some judicious trimming (the play runs 2
hours, with a 10-minute intermission) and a more focused point of view, this
could be a great piece.
The cast is superb- Abe Goldfarb shines with
magnificence as Ramses (I also recently saw him in Hostage Song. I look forward
to seeing more of his fine work). Jessi
Gotta simply owns the stage as Tigress, looks great in her sex-kittenish costume, and kicks some
serious butt in the fight choreography. Both actors do a fine job illustrating how their costumes change their personalties, letting their personal overmen out.
Mac Rogers is very funny as ascended fanboy Guy Madison, and Patrick
Shearer is flawlessly spooky as the stoic Overman himself. They're ably assisted by 4 supporting actors
who play the rest of the world- Zack Calhoon, Mark Landers, Ben VandenBoom, and
Christopher Yustin. …And the recorded
voices who appear in the radio and television announcements- Pete Boisvert,
Isaac Butler, Rebecca Comtois, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Desmond Dutcher, Brian
Enk, Shay Gines, Matt Johnston, Marsha Martinez, and Brian Silliman.
The fight choreography by Qui Nguyen and Alexis Black is
very impressive. Lighting design by Phil
Shearer is perhaps better than it really needs to be. Sound design by Patrick Shearer is great and video
and picture projections by Rebecca Comtois are impressive, though a thudding
sound seemed to accompany the end of each video/sound cue. Costumes by Meredith
Magoun are very nice (especially for the over-the-top superheros), although surprisingly
there are no tights (despite them being mentioned in the script)!
