The four characters in Maury Zeff’s “Dada Teen Musical: The Play,” now at Central Works (it’s the Berkeley company’s 78th world premiere), fall neatly into established stereotypes. In this case, it’s not a bad thing.
Even though none of the four really changes much during the course of two acts, they’re such imperfect human beings, and so funny, you kind of don’t want them to. You want to watch everything fall apart.
The exception, and perhaps the play’s central figure, is Mariah. She’s a disaffected teen in a black leather jacket with an electric guitar and a proto-punk look. Mariah is at odds with her classmates and under the spell of the late-20th-century punk band the Ramones. With a reserved, antisocial nature, she has a firmer grip on reality than her cohorts. If everyone would just leave her alone, she’d be fine.
The other three are a good deal less centered.
Annabel, a perky cheerleader type who comes from privilege and is desperate to get into Harvard, needs “something in the arts” to add to her application and has decided, for no clear reason, that producing and directing a Dada version of “The Sound of Music” is just the ticket, although she’s not sure what Dada is.
She’s devoted to popular, cluelessly self-confident motormouth Tyler, a born troublemaker. When he wrests control of Annabel’s project—in which the characters will be sentient alligators, and he’ll be the star, although he has never acted before—the wacky plot is set into motion.
Nebbishy calculus/theater teacher Mr. Dorfman, who’s in charge of the students’ production, is basically on the verge of a nervous breakdown as things go haywire.
But if Mariah is intended to be the central character, being the only one who sees reality clearly, the focus is on Annabel and Tyler, because they’re both so nuts and have funnier lines. Annabel simply can’t see Tyler for the manipulative liar he is; Tyler suddenly, and for no very convincing reason, falls for a distinctly unimpressed Mariah. All the audience can do is go along for the increasingly nonsensical ride.
As directed at a brisk pace by Central Works’ Gary Graves, the actors are particularly well chosen. Zoe Chien’s Annabel hits just the right notes of manipulative, nervous charm; her hands seem to have a life of their own, somehow expressing all the anxiety and despair she’s trying to hide. Jacob Henrie-Naffaa plays Tyler at a self-confident, fevered pitch that will leave your head spinning—his dialogue goes by so fast, and there’s so much, it’s hard to absorb. Alan Coyne’s teacher, forever clutching a clipboard and looking harried, and Chanel Tilghman’s quiet, focused Mariah, provide the slightly more attuned-to-reality balance that keeps the play focused.
This cast is in control of every second of Zeff’s unapologetically goofy comedy.
Central Works’ “Dada Teen Musical: A Play” continues through Nov 16 at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. Tickets are $20 to $45 at centralworks.org.
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