Goodman's 'stop. reset.' piles on futuristic fears
Don't be surprised if you have a hard time wrapping your head around the conclusion of Regina Taylor's “stop. reset.”
Now making its Midwest debut at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in a high-tech production directed by Taylor herself, “stop. reset.” has loads of sharp insights and portentous fears to impart about our age of accelerating technology. Yet the play frustrates and confounds with its often haphazard structure and a brusque conclusion. Taylor also implements a partially formed sci-fi element a little too late in the game.
“stop. reset.” is ostensibly about Alexander Ames (a commanding Eugene Lee), the CEO of Chicago Black Publisher, which specializes in African-American literature. His empire is on the verge of obsolescence since he and his company have been reluctant to adapt to the onslaught of digital publishing and new media.
Ames is physically vulnerable as well. He is recovering from a recent stroke and is suffering lingering grief tied to the unsolved murder of his grown son and company heir apparent.
Ames' top departmental heads are also full of unease since they fear one of them is going to get fired on this freakishly frigid day in late 2016. So Tim (Tim Decker), Chris (Eric Lynch), Deb (Lisa Tejero) and Jan (Jacqueline Williams) start to turn against each other as they strategize their cases to cling to their jobs.
Hanging around this fraught environment is the insouciant and otherworldly janitor J (a very convincing Edgar Miguel Sanchez). J has no respect for his elders and wears his proud ignorance of history and literature like a badge as he revels in his digitally constructed experiences in his head. Despite initial misgivings, Ames soon sees this youth, who is so in touch with the pulse of the future, as a potential savior to his company.
Throughout “stop. reset.” Taylor creates great situations to lament how our culture has turned glib and superficial as media companies become more concerned with online clicks instead of substantive research. “stop. reset.” also warns how the wisdom of previous generations is being lost because they can't (or refuse to) adapt with the times.
Yet Taylor overstuffs her drama with the employee backbiting, which unleashes divisive issues of race, gender and generational divides. Practically all the supporting characters come off as shrill and shallow demographic types rather than real people, despite the best efforts of the cast to make their roles more dimensional. (Karen Perry's futuristically embellished costume designs only emphasize the employees' surface superficiality.)
So by the time Taylor reveals the futuristic sci-fi plot twist, it appears as an easy out — a distraction from fully dealing with the play's earlier issues.
If Taylor's script doesn't fully satisfy, at least she directs a gripping show featuring a hardworking cast enveloped in a high-tech production. Designer Riccardo Hernandez's sleek and glassy set provides a great framework to highlight the complex projection design of Shawn Sagady and the unease-inducing aural world of sound designer Richard Woodbury. Lighting designer Keith Parham's skilled work also adds to the production's sense of dread and desperation.
“stop. reset.” has a lot to say about our times. It just feels like a bit of a letdown since Taylor reached for the fantastical to finish up the play rather than dealing with harsher solutions rooted in reality.
“stop. reset.”
★ ★ ½
<b>Location:</b> Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, (312) 443-3800 or <a href="http://goodmantheatre.org">goodmantheatre.org</a>
<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday (also June 14), 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through June 21
<b>Tickets:</b> $10-$40
<b>Running time:</b> About one hour, 45 minutes with no intermission
<b>Parking:</b> Nearby parking garage and street parking
<b>Rating:</b> For adults