Written by orange• October 8, 2024• 2:38 am• Review, The Chance Theater, Theater, Uncategorized

Gloria @ Chance Theater – Review

Photo by Doug Catiller

Written by Patrick Chavis

Gloria is now playing at Chance Theater from September 27 to October 20, 2024.

Marya Mazor directed Gloria, which is now at the Chance Theater. It is a sharp and witty exploration of the dark side of the publishing industry with an even darker comedic edge.

Story:

In Gloria, we watch three scenarios before, after, and in the future of what happens to a group of people in the publishing industry who go through a traumatic situation. The play explores how trauma can be monetized and its ramifications.

Branden Jacob-Jenkins is the playwright of this piece. What really made this show work for me was how well I was introduced to the four lead characters, especially in the first act.

Miles (Johnathan Middleton) is an intern who’s worked there for months but, like many interns, mostly does busy work. Dean (Will Martella) is a gay, fast-talking assistant with drinking issues. Ani (Emma Laird) is an attractive and nerdy girl who decided to go into magazine publishing for fun but could be doing anything she wanted. Lastly, Kendra, played by Audrey Forman, is a highly ambitious assistant but is constantly causing trouble in the office, not literally but freebasing Starbucks instead of getting work done and twittering of course. The only one who seems to be working is the fact checker Lorin (Erik Scilley), who periodically tells everyone to shut up.

Erik Scilley is a riot as the grumpy and but also possibly most grounded character in this play, fact checker Lorin, who is just trying to get his work done in an office that won’t stop gossiping.

Socially, it’s a toxic office that is not too far from the reality of many offices. When everything goes bad, the piece highlights that problems like these are often symptoms of a combination of things, not just the perpetrator.

The play does what you see in a lot of good writing. It sets up and alludes to what will happen in the future, and you still miss it until it hits you. This first act in this play goes off with a bang, pun intended. The proceeding story captures the drama and hypocrisy with stunning clarity.

Set Design/Costuming:

The set design from Christopher Scott Murillo, a city cubicle office design, rings true in my mind, in accuracy with the office designs, but also in the time, as I worked in corporate around the time this play was set in the early 2000s. It’s scary how accurately this play captured a period in our lives. We often think about how things were in the ’60s and the ’70s, even the ’80s, but the early 2000s also had their vibes. I think Murillo captured it in each design, from the office to the Starbucks and later to an office in Los Angeles. There’s a lot of Starbucks in this show. Hold it. Do you want anything…

Acting:

In live theatre, it’s rare for everything to work, from the look to the acting to the script, but this is one of those casts; it just works. My hats off to the casting at the Chance Theater. Will Martella (Dean) plays troubled and sassy like it’s nobody’s business.

A triple-threat performance from Emma Laird, playing not just one but three different characters while changing her energy and presence with each role.

Audrey Forman (Kendra/Jenna) cannot only play bossy but the way she took a hit and sold it shocked this reviewer’s nervous system.

While trying not to reveal any spoilers, this play has at least two graphic scenes of violence, so be aware. The content is adult.