The theremin, the eerie electronic instrument familiar from many movie soundtracks, is barely heard in Termen Vox Machina, by MDeegan, currently onstage at Oracle Theatre. This is strange, as this leaden, uneasy mixture of science fiction, historical drama and radio play centers on Lev Sergeivitch Termen, also known as Leon Theremin, the inventor of that singular instrument.
The play's primary artistic innovation, and its ultimate downfall, is that virtually the entire play is lip-synced to a prerecorded soundtrack. The dialogue and sound effects were recorded by the cast of the original production, at Los Angeles' Filament Theatre Company. While the idea of a radio play being embodied onstage is a fascinating one, the effect of the lip-syncing is to remove all of the spontaneity from the production. The entire production feels airless, without a spark of inner life. That claustrophobic feeling may be what the creators intended, but it makes for a difficult play to watch, even at a relatively brief 90 minutes including intermission.
It doesn't help much that the script is confusing at best. For those familiar with Theremin's life, it might be a fascinating refraction of his story. Unfortunately, for a novice such as myself, the bizarre science fiction plotline, with Theremin stuck in the ether and reliving his life out of sequence, with malevolent creatures in pursuit, was borderline incomprehensible. The occasional interesting scenes never built to any impact.
To its credit, the production looks fantastic, thanks to Tyler Burke's set—made entirely of several layers of plastic curtains and full of disturbing associations—Joan Pritchard's costumes, and Mac Vaughey and Eric Van Tassell's lighting. Director Max Truax has guided his agile cast to some fascinating stage pictures. In the end, however, this admirably ambitious experiment is done in by its own devices.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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