A scene from “The Flick”
Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, “The Flick,” is being produced right here in Harrisburg, but not in the place you may expect. Instead of being performed at Open Stage, Baker’s tragicomedy—set in a movie house—takes place at Midtown Cinema, bringing with it an exciting new dimension of realism.
Stuart Landon’s production of “The Flick” focuses on how our shared need for human connection plays out among movie theater ushers. This three-person show follows Sam (Brennen Dickerson), a 30-something who continues to be passed over for promotions, Rose (Maddie McCann), the cinema’s dominating projectionist, and Avery (Andre Tucker), the bashful film pundit who’s new on the job.
As I collected bits of character information, I delighted in watching almost nothing happen. It’s the conversations you have with your coworkers in the hallway, before meetings, and on breaks. The seemingly insignificant conversations to distract from the monotony of work that serve as subtle life lines against the mundane.
Landon himself is quite fond of the understated nature of the play.
“I think we’re just bumping around, searching for connection in this big world,” he said. “With ‘The Flick,’ Annie Baker allows us the great privilege of being able to watch three fellow humans trying, and perhaps failing, to figure it out, to connect, in the small, repetitive world of a rundown movie theater. It’s a slow-brew journey and great fun.”
All three actors handle the text of Baker’s uber-realism, which reads similarly to that of Carol Churchill, with great ease, something that is particularly noticeable in Tucker’s flawless delivery of the one-sided phone conversation monologue.
Dickerson brings an incredible comedic timing to his portrayal of Sam that cannot be missed. His brilliant, fast-paced quips to Sam are heartbreakingly offset by his jerky moments of vulnerability.
McCann takes the wilder aspects of Rose as a character and gives us a more accessible version of the sexually aggressive party girl with issues.
One of the many perks of mounting “The Flick” at Midtown Cinema is that there is an actual screen in front of the audience. Landon uses this to his advantage, showing credits, movie trailers and scenes from well-known films to fill, for lack of a better term, scene changes.
This production certainly embraces the non-urgency of real life at times. But it’s really the sincere look into the creation and deconstruction of human relationships and connections that should not be missed.
Open Stage presents “The Flick” at Midtown Cinema, 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. This previously sold-out run has added one final performance on April 29. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased on Open Stage’s website at openstagehbg.com, by calling 717-232-6736, or e-mailing boxoffice@openstagehbg.com. Student discounts are available. The production is sponsored by Abby and John Tierney.
