Here's a new Brain review - I'm must say it's nice to have gotten ALL positive reviews for this production!
The Brain From Planet X
by Joyce Rosenthal, Fullerton Observer
May 19, 2008
The year is 1958; the location the San Fernando Valley. A wild-eyed, hyperactive Narrator appears to warn us of the strange and terrible things we are about to see.
However, next we are in the backyard of Fred and Joyce, an idyllic American couple. Fred, an engineer and inventor, is home from work. Joyce, the perfect housewife, will grill steaks for dinner after bringing Fred a beer. Perky daughter Donna is off to the library to catch up on homework. Life couldn’t be better.
But wait—-what’s that awful sound? Are those objects in the sky flying saucers? This was what the Narrator meant! It’s an invasion by the Brain from Planet X who comes to conquer Earth with help from his two assistants, Zubrick (male) and Yoni (female). People on Planet X are all intellect with no emotion. They view humans as all emotion with no intellect. The Brain plans on zapping humans with his “will bender” which will make them do his bidding. Life on Earth may never be the same!
The Brain from Planet X, a spoof of bad 50’s science fiction movies, is cheesy but clever, hokey but hilarious and is a thoroughly delightful musical. David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel wrote the book and Kimmel also wrote the music and lyrics and directed the show; this is only the third time this play has been performed and we are fortunate indeed that it came to Chance Theater.
As the play proceeds, more and more humans are zapped causing them to walk around with vacant smiles on their faces. The military is called in with one-star General Mills in charge, ably assisted by Private Parts. Yoni becomes more and more emotional and exhibits an interest in human males. Zubrick resists longer than her but eventually he too succumbs to emotion—and exhibits an interest in human males.
Daughter Donna and boyfriend Rod (she did not go to the library to do homework) and Professor Leder, her grandfather, join forces with the military and ultimately everyone comes together in Fred’s backyard. ...
The costumes (by deb Millison) are perfect for a 1950’s B science fiction movie. Lighting Design by KC Wilkerson and Sound Design by Dave Mickey and Mitchell Kohen are great. The cast is uniformly talented and delivers a dynamite show. Especially outstanding are Michael Irish (Narrator, Professor Leder), Bob Simpson (Fred), Allison Appleby (Joyce), and Emily Clark (Yoni). Don’t miss it.
