DIRE MOON CARTOONS (Adult Fables for the Next Millennium) is described as "a collection of highly theatrical fables inhabited by a menagerie of wigged and zooted critters speaking the very colorful and very hip language of poet/playwright, John Sullivan."I'm sure Sullivan has a lot of profound stuff to say about the state of our nature and the nature of our society, but I'm afraid much of it was lost on this very un-hip reviewer. I'll be the first to admit, I don't reside on the same enlightened plane as Sullivan.
Dire Moon Cartoons, now playing at Theatre Degree Zero, is one of those works that forces you to question your own intellect and ability to comprehend. You sheepishly sneak a look at the rest of the audience to see if their faces hold expressions of the realization and discernment you're searching for.
The cartoon characters spume line after line such as this one spoken with conviction by Mouse Van Gogh: "If I could work up a decent case of amnesia, I could get to the beach before the bomb or the black mayonnaise." By the time I'd assumed that line to mean, if we could forget about the threat of nuclear destruction and oil spills, we could spend an ignorantly blissful day at the beach, I'd already missed the next 10 lines.
Of course, some of us poor, dumb fools spend blissfully ignorant days at the beach anyway. Lucky we have Sullivan to enlighten us.
The promos for this play say that Dire Moon Cartoons "represents the first time Sullivan has unleashed the full play of his highly imaginative, poetic language into the theatrical arena." It may just be that Sullivan's high imagination is way beyond my low comprehension. Or this might be one of those plays that you need to see a few times before you begin to say, "Oh, well okay, well maybe I might be getting it, I think. What do you think it means?"
"Highly imaginative, poetic language" is certainly an accurate description. The language is vividly rich and rhythmic. But it's like reading poetry that's just so damn clever only the poet knows what the hell it means.
Oh, I could infer a few things--like maybe the three ZZ Top-looking guys, Zack, Zed, and Zucheo, who proclaim to be the rulers of the world, represent the holy trinity. Then again, maybe not. I do know that they zoon ztart to zound like a Zima commercial. (Does that have any significance?) But I'm pretty sure the bone in the cartoon, "The Castle is my Bone," represents a penis. And to go boneless really sucks, because you know those who hold a bone, hold the power.
In spite of the cryptological writing, however, the production is top-notch. The play is made up of 10 short "cartoons" narrated by Sullivan himself, a prelude, and a finale. (A couple of the 10 could easily be cut, most notably "The Baba Moose Shuffle No. 4.") The language, which is snappy and lyrical, is the play's core, but it's visually entertaining as well, with fun costumes and set designs done by the cast and crew.
An all-around excellent cast under the competent direction of Theatre Degree Zero's artistic director, Jack Halstead, succeeds in delivering the difficult material with apparent ease, and the original music by Jim Klingenfus, which includes some wild variations of old favorites such as "Strangers in the Night," couldn't be better.
My vote for "best cartoon character giving a cartoon monologue" goes to Pasquale Ferrari as the frighteningly unbalanced Eraser Grunt in "The Dynamite Confession of Eraser Grunt." Rick Moyer and Richard Hatter (Zucheo and Zed) contribute many humorous moments, and Tania Gutsche offers a solid performance as Mouse Van Gogh.
Guest artist Laura Bean performs a funny and passionate short piece in addition to the "cartoons" titled "First Swimming Lesson." She's imaginative and talented, and besides the finale, it's the only piece I think I understood.
Theatre Degree Zero's production of Dire Moon Cartoons continues with performances at 8 p.m. through April 22, in the Temple of Music and Art Cabaret Theatre, 330 S. Scott Ave. Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors at the door. No reservations required.
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