Amber (Allyson Sereboff) is on a face time call with her mother Sally (Christine Ditillio) after a long, tiring day at work. Her mother is telling her about this strange email she and a neighbor have received–a children’s song followed by a series of numbers. Sally says it’s been on the news—millions of people have received the email. Amber has no idea what Sally is talking about, having no access to television or news at work. Her mother starts to sing the song, going into a trance like state. Amber is shocked to see a masked man all in black sneaking up behind her mother, and then the screen goes blank.
Strange lights and heavy smoke have appeared to people on both coasts and along the Southern border, but when they try to take a picture of the phenomena, nothing shows up. More and more people are disappearing and panic starts to build. Should people stay at home or should they flee? To where? Friends, lovers, parents, children, no one seems immune from these mysterious people dressed in black. Are we being invaded? What are these strange radio waves coming from outer space? Are these enforced disappearances? A couple of gamers try to crack the code of the numbers contained in the message. A TV news anchor (Bob Telford) dutifully relates the events until he finally breaks down, saying he can’t continue to spout the lies he has been handed. What is going on?
Playwright Tom Cavanaugh bills Now, Now, Now as a supernatural thriller. I would classify it more as a paranoid thriller. Are the abductors in black a thinly veiled portrayal of I.C.E. agents doing their roundups of illegals? Or as the ending seems to hint, is this a paramilitary takeover by militia forces, rounding up their opponents? What Now, Now, Now is is a very interesting slice of modern life, where conspiracy theories are given free reign. It is well directed and produced by Cavanaugh. The frequent use of realistic news breaks, complete with commercials, add to the realness and immediacy of the events. The large cast conveys a sense of urgency and dread. Cavanaugh calls the show his “Passion Project through the Pandemic” and it truly is a creature of streaming theatre.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7124