Roustabout’s ‘All Childish Things’ brings “The Force” to Milan
MILAN, Mich.–We all know people who are…um…the special people; those who are so obsessed with something like, say, Star wars, that eventually they get married to one another dressed as Han Solo and Princess Leah.
Such people are the subject of All Childish Things: The Special Edition, a play by Joe Zettelmaier and the first professional play launched by Roustabout Theatre Company, which Zettelmaier co-founded.
Dave Bullanski (Dan Johnson) is an uber-geeky Star Wars fanatic who lives, appropriately, in his mother’s basement despite having a job at toy giant Mattel. His two friends, Max (Amdy Gaitens) and Carter (Jacob Hodgson) have hatched a caper to break into Mattel and quickly steal a cache of valuable Star Wars merchandise and action figures they value at about $2 million. Big Man (Jon Davidson) is the local Don who will buy the stolen booty.
Carter has hooked up with a girlfriend, Kendra (Meghan VanArsdalen) who is a bit ratty, cracking meanly about Max’s weight and thinking the whole Star Wars obsession is for losers. But she’s in on the caper nonetheless, like Julia Roberts in “Ocean’s Eleven.’
The geeky obsession with Star wars makes for some amusing sight gags and rim-shot lines, as well as a hilarious reaction from Bullanski and Max when Kendra confuses Star Wars with Star Trek. That said, the story, while breezy and light comedy, is not overly compelling.
The caper serves more as a frame to explore timeless themes, such as loyalty, friendship, betrayal and the comedy of life when people seemingly on opposite sides of life, wealth and reality can become connected by a mutual obsession.
The cast, directed by Joey Albright, is first-rate with Mr. Johnson nailing the geeky basement dweller, Mr. Gaitens drawing our laughter and sympathy as the possessed and pudgy single father who is easily bullied by the waifish Brenda and Mr. Davidson entirely believable as the over-confident chief operator of the “gang.” The set design of Dave’s basement, by Jennifer Maiseloff, is very good, right down to the remote-control book-case that opens a few times amidst a cloud of mist and red-light to reveal Dave’s collection of Star Wars merch.
Roustabout’s home for now is the auditorium in Milan High School. It is a terrific, well-equipped space, if a bit cavernous (as is the whole enormous school) for the crowds coming to see this excellent production. Parking is plentiful.
All Childish Things is not going to make you think that much, but it will make you laugh. If it does make you think, it might be about whether your original Luke Skywalker lunchbox might be moldering in a box somewhere in your parents’ attic.