Although the theatre itself is small, and it’s location makes you wonder what you’re getting yourself into, once you sit down and the (bloody) curtain comes up, you realize it masks the fact that truly stellar work is done here. The theatre is the Hunger Artists Theatre Company in Fullerton, right near CSU Fullerton. As best put by the managing director, Anthony Galleran “It was founded in 1996 by a group of longtime friends who met while studying at OCC’s repertory theatre. Our vision/mission/goal is to produce a combination of new, classical, and alternative works for the Orange County community, while fostering an environment for actors, directors, writers, and technicians to hone their craft.”
My first experience with Hunger Artists Theatre was in seeing Frankenstein in Love. El Coco, a character from the play, utters this line towards the beginning: “without Plato or heroin I’d be a lunatic.”
And that’s when I knew this was going to be quite the ride.
If I were to sum up Frankenstein in Love with a cliche it would be “expect the unexpected.” And just like clocks, even overused cliches ring true twice a day. I have to admit I went into the play expecting a love story–a slightly bizarre one seeing as Frankenstein is one of the lovers, but a love story nonetheless. Don’t get me wrong, love is an element, but really what isn’t in Clive Barker’s play? (Yes, THAT Clive Barker, the one known for his horror stories, especially the Hellraiser series. )
The story begins with Maria Reina Duran, a prostitute, erm excuse me, I mean a palm reader who just happens to get paid for bringing pleasure to her clients, telling us she is already dead, a ghost telling us what happened to lead up to her death, and also what happened after, for even after her death she is a part of this post-apocalyptic world. It all takes place in a fictional Central American country, run by the dictator, President Perez, but is currently in the process of being overthrown by guerilla forces, the leader of them being Cesar Guerrero, aka El Coco. While hunting down Perez, El Coco and his faithful goon, Cockatoo, discover an underground lab run by none other than Dr. Frankenstein whom they learn has been performing experiments on humans.
Where is the love story, you ask? (As I’m sure you are because I was. Well actually a lot of questions were running through my brain while watching.) There is actually a love triangle between Dr. Frankenstein, El Coco, and Veronique, Frankenstein’s creation.
But before we get to that, we are treated to a very multi-layered, intense story involving life and death, (of course), along with politics, sexuality, cannibalism as well as a little cross-dressing. Think Rocky Horror, but a lot more serious, no music, and less camp. Well, a bit campy, but all the best things are. As the director, Andrew Vonderscmitt said “you have to be crazy to stage this.” And I for one, love me a little crazy. Vonderscmitt also loved the fact that the play had so many possibilities, and that it’s very different from anything else out there.
What truly held all the craziness for me was the acting–it was superb. You were pulled into their world immediately, coming up for a breath during the 15 minute intermission while you tried to wrap your head around everything you’ve seen and heard, to dive right back into the second act. These actors are all professional, having acted in many other productions prior, and they loved this script so much, that they donated their time, forgoing a paycheck to get to work on it. That’s passion and commitment to one’s craft. And as I said, you could see that in their performances–because this play has so many elements, and often out-there ideas, that the wrong cast could have completely ruined it! Instead Barker’s work was raised up by their and Vonderschmitt’s dedication, to do the play justice.
Frankenstein in Love isn’t a play for everyone, but that’s not a bad thing–it’s not trying to appeal to everyone and instead is a fascinating thing to feast your eyes on–it’s visually graphic, literally and figuratively, but it also makes you think, makes you question, makes you pause afterward. It will haunt you with its image of a hell on earth–you best be a firewalker if you dare to proceed.
photos courtesy of Hunger Artist Theater
