Playwright Keiko Green invites audiences to party like it's the apocalypse

Every property sees the apocalypse successful its ain image, arsenic the distinguished literate professional Frank Kermode observed successful his publication “The Sense of an Ending.” The apocalyptic imagination, helium argued, imposes connected past “neat, naïve patterns” presaging a turning constituent successful the expansive strategy of humanity.

One motion of the fictional quality of this enactment of reasoning is the mode prophecies of the extremity of the satellite are routinely, successful Kermode’s words, “disconfirmed without being discredited.” Apocalypse, successful short, has a mode of making believers of america all.

I punctual myself of this sage corrective, due to the fact that similar playwright Keiko Green, writer of the caller drama “You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!” I excessively person a consciousness that the extremity is near.

Science seems to backmost up our fears. The Earth itself is endangered. Species are dying off, oversea levels are rising and utmost upwind events are occurring much frequently.

Greg (Joel de la Fuente), the terminally sick cardinal quality of “Cordially,” has go obsessed with the ravages of human-induced clime alteration since his diagnosis of Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. As his assemblage fails him, helium sympathizes much profoundly with the dying planet, going truthful acold arsenic to state to his bewildered loved ones that helium is the Earth itself.

“Cordially,” which is having its satellite premiere astatine South Coast Repertory nether the absorption of Zi Alikhan, whitethorn dependable grim, but it’s amazingly bouncy. M (River Gallo), Greg’s big kid who is an emerging resistance performer, serves arsenic emcee for this communicative astir love, grief and uncovering meaning successful the look of extinction.

The play has elements of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” and “The Skin of Our Teeth” and echoes of modern plays, specified arsenic Julia Cho’s “Aubergine” and Eboni Booth’s “Primary Trust.” Additionally, the question from home mayhem to cosmic absurdity evokes the works of Paula Vogel and Sarah Ruhl, American exemplars of magic realism.

In their antithetic ways these writers acceptable the isolated suffering of individuals against a twinkling nighttime entity of existential mystery. Green, an L.A-based playwright connected the rise, whitethorn look to beryllium inventing her ain rules for theatrical storytelling, but she is simultaneously moving successful a affluent theatrical tradition.

It takes a spot of clip for “Cordially” to find its rhythm. Scenically, the accumulation is limber if not particularly visually inviting. But the bigger situation is that Green is enfolding stories wrong stories that person an associative yet indirect connection.

The play is astir the extremity of the word, we’re told by M astatine the beginning. But past we determination to the doctor’s office, wherever Greg and his wife, Viv (Alysia Reiner), person immoderate dire aesculapian news.

Viv reacts severely to however the doc (Sharon Omi) is discussing Greg’s illness. But her ain bedside mode leaves thing to beryllium desired. Green doesn’t interest whether her characters travel disconnected arsenic likable oregon not. In a crisis, unpleasant behaviour tin beryllium excused. But everyone is going done thing hard successful “Cordially,” and the deficiency of, well, cordiality tin beryllium wearying.

River Gallo successful Keiko Green’s ”You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World” astatine South Coast Repertory.

(Robert Huskey)

M, who uses they/them pronouns, is dour and antiaircraft successful their interactions with their parents. Greg and Viv strive to beryllium accepting, but Greg keeps accidentally referring to M arsenic Michael. He apologizes for his mistake, but M’s vexation suggests a analyzable past that the play doesn’t person clip to delve into.

Viv takes portion successful a counseling radical but resents having to stock her communicative astir her husband’s unwellness erstwhile pressed to bash truthful by different member, Janet (Omi, making a lasting content successful a tiny role). Lila (Anna LaMadrid), Viv’s sister, is much amiable, but successful specified a woo-woo mode that she creates tensions of a antithetic kind.

As for Greg, helium would look to beryllium the evident repository for the audience’s sympathy. But he’s successful specified manic distress implicit the clime situation that he’s acting crazier than anyone astir him. Or should I accidental saner? He surely has crushed to consciousness that the Earth is connected fire. But erstwhile helium starts hallucinating conversations with clime activistic Greta Thunberg, imagining himself astatine a enactment radical for extinct animals and really vandalizing borrowed lawnmowers, it seems his chemo is upending his brain.

The play comes into sharper absorption erstwhile Will (a vibrant Rafael Goldstein), M’s boyfriend, challenges Greg’s content that individuals indispensable bash what they tin to halt clime change. Will, who works for an biology nonprofit, argues that humans won’t beryllium capable to recycle their mode retired of the situation and that harping connected idiosyncratic work lone lets firm perpetrators disconnected the hook.

The clash of position enlivens the play by clarifying the thematic questioning holding “Cordially” unneurotic — however tin quality beings process the standard of demolition astir them without succumbing to feelings of futility. Our lives whitethorn beryllium going extinct — some, similar Greg’s, sooner than others — but that doesn’t mean they don’t substance oregon can’t astatine the precise slightest marque a tiny difference, 1 recycled tin oregon compassionate motion astatine a time.

M, moving done antithetic stages of grief, treats the apocalypse arsenic an juncture to enactment similar it’s 1999 — oregon immoderate twelvemonth the extremity of the satellite is present scheduled. In afloat resistance regalia, they unflinchingly face the encroaching acheronian with a theatrical exuberance that says, “I’m here, my eyes are unfastened and I care.”

The amusement ends with an assemblage ritual, asking theatergoers to talk the names of mislaid loved ones. “Cordially” is simply a small excessively jumpy for its ain good, but its discursive bosom is successful the close spot for these grievous times.