Opening night of “A Devil Inside” proved to be a delightfully comic farce that blended charismatic acting with absurdist, dark comedy.
Christopher McCann’s direction of this David Lindsay-Abaire play is nothing short of genius. Not only was the play beautifully staged, it was especially interesting that scene changes and scenes involving the NYC Subway were done on skateboards.
“A Devil Inside” keeps you in a state of wonder as the audience member tries his or her best to decipher the enigmatic events that weave each of these characters together. Many times, the question to be asked is who is telling the truth in this thoroughly paradoxical, even maddening work that seems central on the theme of discovering the devil in us all.
The recognition of Russian literature and consideration of the works of Christopher Durang are apparent throughout the play. One of the characters, Carl, is the Russian literature professor, who discusses “Crime and Punishment.” The focus of that play is mental anguish and moral dilemmas, two main concerns for the character of Carl.
The second piece of Russian literature is “Anna Karenina,” a work that exemplifies the character of Caitlin, one of Carl’s students. Her continuous desire to embody Anna serves as a foreshadowing to her death – by a train carriage on the way to Saint Petersburg.
Christopher Durang is given his tribute in the mirroring of absurdist comedy tainted in a dark manner to produce a farce of gore that proves to be simultaneously humorous. Durang was Lindsay-Abaire’s tutor from 1996 to 1998 when he was accepted to the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at the Juilliard School.
This production exhibited excellent acting working with a powerful script that adeptly weaves events and characters into a brilliant culmination.
The play, staged at the Performing Arts Center can be seen on Thursday March 14 at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday March 16 at 7:30 p.m., followed by a talk-back session with the cast. Tickets to both performances are available for $5 to students, faculty and staff with valid ID cards.
See our review of “Hedda Gabler,” the other play staged by the senior company this week, here.