Mud Creek Players offers up God of Carnage (from 2008), Yasmina Reza’s imaginings of what might occur when two sets of parents attempt to figure out whose child is at fault for a note-worthy event in a local playground. Of course, they each defend their own little darling and the obvious conflicts ensue augmented by a good many other debated topics including hamsters, childhood gangs, rum, dessert recipes, and occupations – to name a few.
In my opinion, God of Carnage is not Reza’s best play (ART holds that distinction) but it nonetheless carries her special knack for highlighting personal human conflicts. Ms. Reza is great at placing her characters in fairly normal situations and then watching as their human foibles fester.
Kelly Keller directs the action here and shows a good understanding of what Reza is up to. He has an excellent cast to work with. Andrea Odle and her husband Mason play Veronica and Michael Novak, the couple whose son Henry was struck in the face with a stick wielded by Benjamin. He is the son of Alan and Annette Raleigh (Gregory Roberts and Amanda McCabe), who are invited over to the Novaks’ to try to figure out what steps need to be taken due to the injuries Henry received and the violent act committed by Benjamin. It all gradually devolves into a mess of arguments and accusations between couples, on gender boundaries, and against individuals.
Veronica (played by Andrea Odle) makes her differences of opinion known to her husband, Michael (Mason Odle). (Photo by Rob Slaven / IndyGhostLight.com)
This is truly an ensemble piece and each actor plays emotional, outraged, and drunken (eventually) levels. Most of the action is a fury that every cast member takes their turn to participate in at full-force. Much of it is funny; much of it is just outrageous – meant to make the playwright’s point about how childish we all can become in certain stressful situations. It bears little resemblance to reality, or rather any reality I have ever witnessed, and is well suited to the 90-minute limit Reza imposed.
Bottom line: I enjoyed seeing my friends the Odles on stage together again. Ms. McCabe and Roberts were new faces for me, and I’ll hope to get to see them again. This entire crew’s energy for chaos was fantastic. Also of note were the sharp set design by Chris Bundy and the costumes by Judy McGroarty.
God of Carnage continues at Mud Creek Players through Feb. 21. You can find more info about reservations, the theatre’s location, and the company’s upcoming schedule by going to mudcreekplayers.org. This show comes with a warning of adult language and situations.
Read more great play reviews from A Seat on the Aisle at asota.wordpress.com.