Boom
nytheatre.com review by Josh Sherman
February 27, 2008
Andrew Connor, the extremely talented writer and performer of the new one-man opus Boom debuting at the Frigid Festival, rolls through eight to twelve distinctly different characters within about 40 minutes. Not only does he pull them all off with deft precision, but he manages to convey conflict among the characters all by his lonesome. Andrew Connor definitely gives you your money's worth with Boom, a terrific piece of theatre that is literally and figuratively "the bomb."
Connor sets the scene of the struggling fictional town of New Rockwell, in which all industry has essentially collapsed upon itself due to the lack of management by the town's mayor. A financially struggling bomb maker and his precocious assistant (who is also his niece) are looking for ways to sell bombs to resuscitate his career. But the bombs that are made are never explosive bombs that kill anything—Connor skillfully defines the bomb more like a controlled chemistry experiment that can alter environmental conditions, or a butterfly scourge. Enter his old partner from a long time ago, who has just been put in charge of building the town's new spaceport, which is the only beacon of hope in a dark time for New Rockwell. This nefarious capitalist, however, leverages the bomb maker into using his bomb making techniques for his own financial gain. What will the bomb maker do?
This is a very creative morality play that Connor has concocted. It's told quite a bit like a fairy tale, only set in the future with a scorched dystopic industrial landscape, spaceports, bombs that aren't like our traditional bombs...and yet, in all honesty, with a lovely sense of innocence to it, through the eyes of the young girl. Connor manages to own the entire stage with his multitude of characters, and tells a compelling short story that manages to make you think about right and wrong. This should be a highlight of this year's FRIGID Festival for sure.
