Playwrights: Cliff Chamberlain, Chelsea Keenan and Justin D. M. Palmer
At: Sandbox Theatre Project,
Menomonee Club, 1535 N. Dayton
Phone: 773-456-2329;
$15 ( suggested donation )
Runs through: Aug. 23
BY JONATHAN ABARBANEL
Is the acting great? No. Is the story deep, profound or original? No. Are the props and special effects eye-popping? Not at all. Is it fun? Hell, yes! I say 'hell' with particular emphasis, for Multi-Purpose Doom is a 75-minute in the vein of vampire slayer Buffy, George Romero and Poltergeist. Without revealing the exceedingly slim plot details, the references I've given pretty much tell you this is a story about blood in the throat and who's left standing and who's not. Also, it will give you new respect for Tang, if you've ever had any.
Sandbox Theatre Project's ensemble members and guest artists work with some of Chicago's top theater companies such as Next, The House, Court and Steppenwolf. They come together only occasionally to create good-time, site-specific theater such as a play about drinking that's performed in a bar, or plays performed at a health club or in an apartment. They don't worry about scenic design or even very much about lighting because what you see is what you get.
Multi-Purpose Doom ( from multi-purpose room ) is set in a community center and is performed, appropriately, in the gymnasium of the Menomonee Club. On the Friday or Saturday night you attend ( the only performance nights ) , you'll find the room is being unwillingly shared by two dudes shooting hoops, a group planning a high school reunion and a self-help circle—called Fearocious—for 'fraidy-cat folks who roar away their phobias. About a half-hour into the piece, hell breaks loose.
It's a loosely written show, the best of which is the satiric self-help group with one member afraid of the weather ( she carries two umbrellas ) , another afraid of sound, another afraid of fruit ( apples = original sin, watermelons might fall from the sky ) and still another who's afraid of developing fears—that is, a phobophobe. As Groucho once said, 'Figure that one out and you're better than I thought.' There's also Desperate Housewives wannabe Cassie, who's organizing the class reunion, and the club janitor who drops lines such as 'There are children starving in Indiana' and 'As Magic Johnson said, 'Can't we all just get along?''
Multi-Purpose Doom is lightweight fun, if not quite inspired silliness. It's strengths are clever use of the space ( and the corridors beyond visible through windows ) and solid comedic chops from the cast of 12, with special nods to Chelsea Keenan as Fearocious Leader Peggy Lion, Brennan Buhl as phobia phobe Carl and Christopher Genovese as touchy-feely Frank.
Thin as it is, Multi-Purpose Doom is a solid entertainment premise that could support a larger platform: a musical version perhaps, or filled out with more gore and comedic shock. FYI: Arrive early and shoot some hoops.