By Nicole M. Robertson
Madelyn and Keenan have just received shocking news from their fertility doctor. Seems there was a little mixup (ha ha) … and their fertilized egg was implanted (ha ha) …. in another woman.
Madelyn is mad enough to belt him, but Dr. Hoskins (Kevin Theis of Chicago), seems more concerned about being sued than in resolving mistakes that led to the mixup.
That’s the setup for a laugh-out loud, relatable comedy playing through March 18 at The Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, “Human Error.” Written by Eric Pfeffinger and directed by Travis R. Lynch, it is making its Michigan debut. The story is set in Sylvania, Ohio.
Keenan (Henri Franklin of Redford) tries to calm his fuming wife. They drive south to meet the other couple, Jim (Alex Leydenfrost of Ann Arbor) and Heather (Kristin Shields of Ann Arbor). But they fear the worst when they see the other couple’s exclusive neighborhood.
,Madelyn (Meghan VanArsdalen of Ann Arbor), is worked up, provoking Keenan to fight when Jim comes out wearing an Ohio State hoodie and towers over the nervous Keenan. He jovially invites them in, saying the neighbors have already called, concerned about strangers in the driveway. He waves thumbs-up to the worried eyes on the street.
Yoga instructor Madelyn thinks they must impress these usurpers with their own liberal beliefs, while Keenan, an academic researcher at the University of Michigan, prefers a casual approach. “This isn’t Ann Arbor!” she tells him. He counsels being nice. “We’re not nice,” she practically spits. He demurs. “I’m nice!”
Scenes change as the actors move the pieces of Scenic Designer Bartley H. Bauer’s simple set — two armless chairs that double as prop storage, and a matching ottoman. Two wide, columnar screens provide backdrop, with colored and patterned lights by Lighting Designer Matt Taylor doing the rest.
Inside the Ohio home, Jim highlights his “152-inch” flat-screen TV and his gun collection. The recently pregnant Heather enters, all smiles and welcoming.
It’s a sharp comment on the professed tolerance of liberals that Madelyn remains guarded and hostile while Jim and Heather are open and warm.
Madelyn rejects Heather’s idea that her lifestyle will necessarily change with a baby. “I don’t want to be a parent, I just want to have kids,” Madelyn says, clueless.
“I never spent time with people who aren’t Christian. Except for Jewish people. And, I mean, they’re practically Christians — like Christians who didn’t finish the book,” Heather says, also clueless.
She accepts yoga lessons from Madelyn, who teaches her a Buddhist idea of sharing someone else’s pain. The two begin an entrancing pas de deux to a subtlety pulsing sound design by Robert W. Hubbard. Their mesmerizing synchrony becomes too intimate for Madelyn, who breaks and runs away. This moment of vulnerable synchronicity is echoed later in a scene where the two women circle each other like panthers, arguing over abortion rights.
Surprises conclude the story, not least the friendship between these couples who could otherwise be enemies. (“They are my favorite socialist libtards!” Jim declares.) Because in the end, this is a story about human potential, weaving harmony from dissonance and understanding as a path to peace.
Photos by Sean Carter Photography.
GET TICKETS
• “Human Error,” written by Eric Pfeffinger, directed by Lynch R. Travis, runs through March 18 at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea. Tickets are $34-$52. Visit purplerosetheatre.org, or call 734-433-7673.
