Marco is at least six degrees separated from reality

Shooting beams of sperm from outer space, the cries of asparagus, descriptions of Mozartian orgasms, man-eating piranhas, sex-change operations: these are the type of bizarre plot twists that pop up throughout the Yale Dramat Freshman production of Marco Polo Sings a Solo. Unfortunately, these and a couple other twists of plot and character are the only truly engaging aspects of John Guare's otherwise slow and somewhat hollow storyline.

SARAH ENGLAND/YH Marco? Polo. Marco? Polo. Marco? Polo.

Set in the Norwegian Arctic circle in 1999, with the approaching millennium on the minds of the characters, the play centers around Stony McBride (Scott Kirschenbaum, SY '03), a movie director documenting Marco Polo's travels. In a jumble of plot lines, Diane McBride (Allysha Powanda, CC '03), Stony's wife and a former concert pianist, emerges as a character who is dissatisfied with her married life on her fifth wedding anniversary. Skillfully portrayed by Powanda, she's almost too busy in her affair with the aspiring U.S. president Tom Wintermouth (Michael MacKenzie, SM '03) to even notice her oblivious husband. Amidst the havoc of affairs and filming of a movie where all the sets are made of ice sculptures emerge other plot lines centering around these characters, ranging from Stony's desires to "be Frank Schaeffer" (Graham Norris, MC '03), an important political figure/astronaut searching for a new planet, to Schaeffer's own problems of trying to impregnate his wife to create the ultimate "21st century man."

Kirschenbaum gives a highly energized performance as the insecure yet passionately ambitious Stony. His strong stage presence keeps the show moving, although this sometimes comes at the expense of a deeper exploration of his character's different emotional and mental states. His secondary role as an overgrown baby is comical but unfortunately ends up being more reminiscent of a slobbering dog than an infant. Powanda and MacKenzie are both convincing in their respective roles as Diane and Tom, but while their sexually energized scenes together are shocking at first, their lust is devoid of any genuine attraction and their relationship comes across as unbelievable, leaving confusion as to why it even exists.

The show's best performances are actually given by two of the cast's supporting actors. Jessica Leventhal, BR '03, plays Freydis, the McBrides' Norwegian maid who speaks in amusing limited grunts of English and obsesses about cleaning everything in sight. While she initially provides some hilarious comic relief, Leven-thal switches back and forth magnificently between her role's three distinct personality types. Emily Guilmette, TD '03, also shines in her role as Mrs. McBride, Stony's very odd mother. She plays a drugged-up former actress attempting to make her comeback in her son's movie and delivering memorable gems like "I'm no expert on symbols, but I'd say when frozen flamingos fall out of the sky, good things are not in store."

Theater

Marco Polo Sings a Solo Written by John Guare Directed by Michael Schulman Nick Chapel Fri., Feb. 18 and Sat., Feb. 19, 8 p.m. $2

Also notable is set designer Julia Lipton's, BR '03, excellent use of space in Nick Chapel. While this theater space often poses problems because of its cramped size, the set's white color scheme (to fit its Arctic setting) and orientation create the illusion of greater space and provide a comfortable atmosphere for as many as six or seven actors to occupy at once. Even large props like a piano are added without producing a feeling of overcrowding. The lighting is also effectively used to help create this space, fading in and out onto the action when more than one scene is taking place on stage. Director Michael Schulman, DC '03, effectively places the actors in large scenes in such a way as to allow the characters to play off each other without interfering in the actors' space or taking away from the focal point at any given moment.

But, disappointingly, while Marco Polo Sings a Solo allows some gifted actors and members of the production staff to display their talents, this year's Freshman Show is hurt by a poor script choice and proves a generally tedious experience.

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