Mo
nroe interprets a neoprimitive dance number by Sophie Tauber with the right naive abandon.
Kevin Percival is outstanding as a much abused "art object” and mental patient named Gaffer, and is also good in a second, different role as an avant-garde choreographer.
Cast as Emmy’s daughter, often neglected in the artistic hubbub, Addie Work makes the most of a final song in which she urges the audience, poignantly, to remember her.
Well-performed ensemble numbers are another asset, communicating what it means "to be young and alive in Zurich,” while artistic shouting matches and political harangues give us an idea of the period’s downside.
The production is nicely bracketed by first and last act scenes in a mental asylum whose box-like structures are transformed, almost magically, into the cabaret and apartment props the action requires.
Challenging, difficult and almost too ambitious, but ultimately rewarding, the OU version of "The Dada Play,” directed by Susan Shaughnessy, is recommended during its remaining performances.
-John Brandenburg
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