REVIEW: "Boom" in Bloomington

My apologies to anyone waiting for the review for Boom. Illness took this reviewer out of commission! But... the wait is over.

Welcome to a world where apparently people are no longer descendents of -- well, to avoid controversy I will say, "where apparently people are no longer descendents of whatever you happen to believe humans are descendents of." Boom takes the audience, through a future museum exhibit, to minutes before and months after an apocolyptic even that wipes out the entire face of the planet, minus Jo (Emily Goodman) who answered a personal add placed by Jules Mike Price), a gay man who has created an underground apartment from an old bomb shelter. Oh, and we can't forget the goldfish, swimming happily in their tank. Narrated by Barbara (Diane Kondrat), Jo and Jules navigate the most unusual of relationships, as he attempts to convince her that it is their responsibility to repopulate the world.

Theatre goers could be nothing less than completely taken aback, walking into the Waldron Arts Center main performance area. The space is not a large one, as compared to many other regional theatres, but the transformation of the space was nothing less than amazing. Yet who can resist a set that includes lockers full from top to bottom with Jack Daniels, tampons, and diapers.

(To the Left: An early sketch of the set of Boom by set designer Mark Smith - taken from http://www.cardinalstage.org/)

The script was playful and easily extracted laughs from the audience. It was witty and there was great use of space by the actors. I was also pleasantly surprised by the chemistry between Price and Goodman. I have seen both in previous Bloomington productions and was slightly skeptical of how they might work together. This is made even more impressive when I discovered that they were not the originally casted actors and began the run after only two weeks of rehearsal.

I must admit the I enjoyed the concept of the show and the acting was well done. Goodman's performance at times felt a little one note, but overall, Price, Goodman, and Kondrat brought these moments in time to life very well.

This having been only my second Cardinal Stage Company production, I look forward to future performance; however, it is my hope to see some variety in casting. I see a wealth of talent in the Bloomington area and admittedly, I am getting tired of seeing the same actors over and over again. One can only wait and see what the remainder of their season holds.