Off-Off Broadway July 08, 2004 Charlie Victor Romeo
Reviewed By Victor Gluck
"Charlie Victor Romeo"
Theater: P.S. 122 Location: 150 First Ave., NYC Starts: June 07, 2004 Ends: June 25, 2004 Presented by: P.S. 122
Reality television has nothing over "Charlie Victor
Romeo," which recreates "black box" transcripts of six real-life
airline emergencies from the point of view of the pilots in the
cockpits. This riveting docudrama, created by Bob Berger, Patrick
Daniels, and Irving Gregory in 1999, has returned in a new production
again directed by Gregory. This play is so real that one might wish to
take Dramamine -- or Valium -- before it begins.
Using different combinations of its ensemble of eight,
and the same cockpit set designed by Bill Ballou and Cecile Boucher
based on Daniels' original design, the play re-enacts six emergency
situations that increase in danger and fatalities as the evening
proceeds. A screen above the set announces the name and date of the
event and the technical problem (not always known to the pilots in the
cockpit). The brilliant sound design by Jamie Mereness (justly honored
back in 2000) places the audience in each plane throughout the evening.
So convincing are the cast members that it is
difficult to believe they have no training in aeronautics. The
scenarios vary in intensity, as in several cases the pilots are unaware
of how much danger they are in. Best are the last two episodes, both
because they are the longest and most dramatically developed and
because they offer the largest fear factors.
Gregory has done wonders with his cast. Along with
Daniels and Gregory recreating their original roles, Noel Dinneen,
Christiaan Koop, luckydave, Adam Swiderski (subbing for Ben Chinn at
the performance attended), Debbie Troche, and Sam Walton are all
equally convincing. In particular, in the last sequence, Daniels' pilot
is so involved with the crisis that his forehead is beaded with
perspiration -- as are the audience's.
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