As today\u2019s population engages deeper and deeper with AI and technology, Jenny Ledel goes one step further. In the premiere of the local playwright\u2019s play, Your Wife\u2019s Dead Body by Second Thought Theatre, Ledel\u2019s dramatic piece offers up the idea of AI as a beneficial tool that fuses sentimentality, health and perhaps a question of ethics, albeit with good intentions.<\/p>\n
Ledel also stars as Jane, who has been diagnosed with cancer. We meet her as she stands alone on the pristine white stage interviewed by an unseen voice giving her both instructions for a variety of physical acts and an array of questions to gain insight to Jane.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ledel\u2019s story shifts gears when actor Drew Wall enters the stage as Jackson, Jane\u2019s husband. Only his explosive entry is a revealing one as the character is taken aback by seeing his wife. Only this time it\u2019s, let\u2019s say Jane 2.0. It\u2019s here we learn that Jane has passed but her body has been claimed by a replicant version ordered from The Lazarus Project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The story unfolds in parallels where Ledel gives both Janes \u2013 the original amidst her increasingly frustrating interview process and 2.0\u2019s good-hearted but clunky interactions in the real world with her husband and at times, his friend Dan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ledel gave an engaging performance that was naturalistic and understated, yet she added subtleties to distinguish each of her Janes. Wall\u2019s flashier role counterbalanced Ledel\u2019s performance and he ably embodied the anguish and confusion of his character. Francisco Grifaldo was plentiful in his characterizations even with his minimal time onstage as the observant friend\/coworker to Jackson and the nonchalant delivery man.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alex Organ, formerly STT Artistic Director, directed the show and\u00a0 expertly balanced a deep exploration of every word and action still with an efficient pace, resulting in a run time of approximately 90 minutes. Organ\u2019s versatility was also evident as he contributed to the sanitized AI voices alongside Rhonda Boutte and Danielle Pickard, and served as co-scenic designer with Wall.<\/p>\n
The stunning white set from its almost invisible cabinetry to the runway emanated an immaculate ambiance that was giving something in between a wellness center and heaven. Lori Honeycutt\u2019s rich lighting added another layer of impact and dimension to the story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Your Wife\u2019s Dead Body was provocative while also tender, but moreso, it felt like a thinkpiece set to the stage. This wasn\u2019t a love story per se, but Ledel gave us a complicated muse on keeping love alive and the implications of that \u2013 or even, is it worth that much?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The show runs through July 26 at Bryant Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013Rich Lopez<\/p>\n
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