More engaging than it sounds, , Annie Baker’s “The Flick” is a non-traditional three-hour character study with special attention to the mundane. Notably, the sweeping of popcorn between shows at a rundown movie theater.
In its regional premiere at Denver’s Curious Theatre, “The Flick’s” long silences can be a test, but ultimately work to lull the observer into the mood. You leave arguing the meaning and merits, but oddly moved and invested in the process. Is this a post-postmodern play about the ordinariness of life as witnessed by underachieving youth? Is it a commentary on digital vs. analog worldviews? Or is it really about the audience, our perceptions and the differences between film and theater?
The set design has the audience facing the eventual audience, that is, rows of empty theater seats below a projection booth. We observe the stage from the perspective of the screen. One character expresses the desire to “touch it,” as if to close the loop between show and reality, observer and observed. This is another subject of the play: in human interactions, what is a performance and what is real?
The three main characters debate the value of digital vs. 35 mm projection, test their movie knowledge with a trivia game and illustrate the socio-economic divide. The mid-30s Sam (sympathetically played by John Jurcheck) has a lifetime of menial work ahead; the younger Avery (Christopher Hayes) is passing through, headed for college and career, and Rose (Laura Jo Trexler) is all unrealized Millennial potential.
In their awkward attempts at connection, the diverse threesome experience friendship, sex, love and betrayal. But none of those experiences really stick.
There’s a lot going on here, although not much in terms of action onstage. Director Chip Walton carefully timed the music and projector sounds according to the stage directions. After the first several minutes, our attention adjusts accordingly.
Note, this is the second show I’ve seen in one week that employs the audience-as-screen device. In “Any Given Monday” at Vintage Theatre, the characters face the audience as if staring at a football telecast. Here’s yet another reminder that video is our modern currency and screens are omnipresent in our lives
Pulitzer Prize-winner Baker specializes in what’s been termed “micro naturalism.” Where most postmodern plays clock in at 90 minutes, she expands beyond three-hour running times to find the zen in stillness. The micro-naturalism in this case means endless repetition of the act of sweeping. As the three workers clean the theater and run the projector, they discuss art, family and the garbage left behind. And we surprise ourselves by connecting.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830, jostrow@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ostrowdp
“THE FLICK” By Annie Baker. Directed by Chip Walton. Featuring John Jurcheck, Laura Jo Trexler and Christopher Hayes. Through Oct. 17 at Curious Theatre, 1080 Acoma Street, Denver. Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets at 303-623-0524 or online at curioustheatre.org
