Con-Con's 'MilkMilkLemonade' hits and misses with abandon
Bob Abelman
News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier
Member, International Association of Theatre Critics
This review will appear in the News-Herald on 8/24/12
True to its purpose—to offer theater that "expands the imagination and extends the conventional boundaries of language, structure, space, and performance"--Convergence-Continuum is staging a highly entertaining, thought-provoking play about being true to one's purpose.
Joshua Conkel's "MilkMilkLemonade," which first appeared off-off Broadway in 2009, tells the tale of an 11-year old boy named Emory who lives on a poultry farm with his Bible-thumping, cancer-ridden grandmother. Emory thinks of himself as being more of a girl than a boy and, ostracized by his classmates, spends most of his time with a giant talking chicken, a Barbie doll, and an abusive neighbor named Elliot whose rough-housing masks his homosexual leanings and self-loathing. All are portrayed by adults.
The innocent, effeminate Emory simply wants to be true to his nature while those around him deny their own. He is content choreographing elaborate ribbon dances, dreaming about performing show tunes on a TV talent contest, and wishing he was a girl in body as well as in spirit. Emory's Nanna could not be less Christian or nurturing as she strives to keep him on the straight and narrow. Linda the chicken seeks asylum from being turned into McNuggets. Elliot denies the good within him by stealing Emory's innocence between bouts of pyromania.
Like the children's rhyme referenced in the play's title, whose lilting melody gives way to a sophomoric laundry list of base bodily functions, Conkel's "MilkMilkLemonade" is told with a children's storybook aesthetic while exploring much darker themes.
Because this outrageous play is jam-packed with clever one-liners and assorted bits of absurdity—including the chicken doing stand-up comedy ala Andrew Dice Clay and the doll lip-syncing to the 1970's self-discovery anthem "I've Never Been to Me"—this Con-Con production merrily bypasses "MilkMilkLemonade's" deeper meaning and lapses into broad comedy.
By accentuating all that is funny, and there is plenty that is funny, director Cory Moiner provides a very entertaining evening that loses touch with what is meant to be thought-provoking. His primary vehicle for doing this is Zac Hudak, whose portrayal of Emory is as free range as the poultry on his farm. Possessing Pee-wee Hermanesque man-child charm, quirky physicality and mischievous undercurrent, Hudak turns dark comedy into sight gags and the play's underlying poignancy into unabashed playfulness.
His wonderful fellow actors—including Sarah Kunckik as Linda the Chicken, Marcia Mandell as Nanna, Brian Devers as Elliot, and the hilarious Lisa Wiley as the terrified narrator, Elliot's reabsorbed fetal twin, and other odd characters—follow suit. So, too, does Clyde Simon's sound and set design, resulting in a campy, fun romp void of texture.
In spite of itself, there are moments in this production when the playwright's sober intentions seep through. The best example is when Emory and Elliot play house. Things turn intriguingly revealing when Elliot, as husband, sucks on a Colt 45 malt liquor and, in a world-weary voice beyond his years, complains about his day. Emory, as wife, wistfully watches the bug zapper on the front porch and says, "Funny how I always root for the moths."
Like moths drawn to the flame, neither Emory nor anyone else in this play can overcome their destiny or true purpose. This is true even in a production that has turned Conkel's play into something it is not.
The 80-minute one-act "MilkMilkLemonade" continues through September 8 at the Liminis Theatre in historic Tremont. For tickets, which range from $10 to $15, call 216-687-0074 or visit www.convergence-continuum.org.
