SEASON 13 ARCHIVE | December 2000

review

---

Despair's Book of Dreams and the Sometimes Radio
Written by Kirk Smith | Presented by VORTEX

---

Payne 2000 Awards: Director, Musical: Bonnie Cullum; Actor & Actress, Musical: Kirk Smith; Lighting Design: Jason Amato; Set Design: Ann Marie Gordon; Sound Design (tie): Kirk Smith & Ken Burchenal

Austin, Texas poet, playwright and musician Kirk Smith, drawing comparisons to Bill Irwin and Jeff Buckley, presents his waking dreamscape of a lonely, abandoned man revisiting his haunted past through phantom broadcasts from his antique radio. Like the Off-Broadway hit "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", this avante-garde musical is populated by unusual, tormented characters and surprising discoveries about life.

"Nothing like this could happen unless everybody else was asleep!"

Connie, a washed up poet, spends his time rebuilding an antique radio. As he works, he talks, telling stories, complaining, and rejoicing. Eventually, the music in his head begins to play out loud -- thanks to a cellist, guitarist, and pianist incorporated into the set as a dead plant, a lamp, and a hat rack, respectively. As the night progresses, the visions in Connie’s head become more potent. Finally, the radio begins to broadcast. Sounds come in bits and pieces, all strange and disconnected. Gradually we begin to make sense of the stories and recognize three “radio voices” as people from his past.

"It's a dark and jarring story that Smith and his vehicle weave for us, a sad clown’s dance through the gory alleys of allegory...eerie and effective” -- Austin Chronicle

"It skates the line of mythology that only Elvis and Jeff Buckley occupy... By confronting the spirit of thwarted dreams, ‘Despair’s’ is sure to haunt the viewer long after leaving the theater” -- CitySearch.

The piece won five separate awards from the Austin Circle of Theaters, including best director, actor, scenery, lighting, and sound. The production was also named one of the Top 10 productions of 2000 by The Austin Chronicle (along with Patrick Marber’s Closer, Rude Mechanicals WAR, and Mac Wellman’s Terminal Hip.)

Written by Kirk Smith
Directed by Bonnie Cullum
Performed by Kirk Smith with Patricia Wappner, David Sangalli & Elizabeth Doss
Mime/Movement: Ellen Kolsto & Matthew Patterson
Musicians: Ken Burchenal (Guitar, Musical Director), Alex Krigsfeld (Piano, synthesizer), Michael Werst (Cello)