It's Ohio in the early nineties.
Black as the blackest soul, not a sound, then, faintly, the first quiet thump, a second, a third, a fourth, louder, louder, a crescendo of the last sound you'll ever hear. Then the glaring eyes, pair after pair, high in the wings, moving slowly downwards as the ultimate monster encircles the heroine now bathed in the spotlights of Area Stage. She swings her sword and...
photo credit: John Rodaz.
Well, it's one way to find the soul of your long dead sister. Just jump the fence from reality into the fantasy life of Dungeons and Dragons. And believe. Oh, you gotta believe.
It goes like this. Agnes (Katie Duerr), an English teacher at an Ohio high school misses her long dead little sister, Tilly (Jenna Mongomery). They didn't quite get along, so Agnes has the guilts and one day while prowling through Tilly's stuff she finds a "Dungeon and Dragon's" handbook Tilly has written.
photo credit: John Rodaz.
So off to meet a master D and D chap who can interpret Tilly's adventure and, incidentally, jam Agnes right into the middle of a battle strewn, cynical, foul mouthed, funny piece that has eleven young adult actors playing multiple roles, showing us the, hush, never tell, other world. And showing us, also, that happy endings are not always fantasy.
Directed by Giancarlo Rodaz who also designed the set, lights, sound and visual effects, “She Kills Monsters,” written by Qui Nguyen in 2011, is a tad uneven, slowing at times from its flash bang lighting, smoke and glitter but never losing its fascinating premise of real life, oh no, not that, in an electronic nightmare.
photo credit: John Rodaz.
Area Stage's John Rodaz and his wife, Maria Banda-Rodaz have produced over 200 shows since opening on Lincoln Road 29 years ago...”I like weird,” John said after the final show of “She Kills Monsters”. And weird it was, but never, ever, less than entertaining.
“She Kills Monsters” closed its run on Sept. 30. Area Stage Company, 1560 South Dixie Highway, Coral Gables, Florida. 305-666-2078. www.areastagecompany.com
photo credit: John Rodaz.
