The Manic Monologues @ WaterTower Theatre
—Jan Farrington
“I would probably be dead if it wasn’t for music.” —Sinead O’Connor (Bipolar, PTSD)
Almost all of us find our lives touched by mental illness or a mental-health crisis at some moment. It happens to our parents and children, to extended family and friends, to people we know from school or church or work. Sometimes, it happens to us, either in a sudden moment or a long, painful awareness that something’s going on.
It isn’t a happy subject. So, to create theater that tells the hard truths, but infuses them with music, laughter, good company, even joy…well, that’s something to see.
WaterTower Theatre’s honest, intense, and deeply felt regional premiere of The Manic Monologues gives us all that and more. It was originally created by Zack Burton and his then-girlfriend Elisa Hofmeister. As a Stanford University Ph.D student, Zack experienced his first psychotic episode in 2017 and was diagnosed as bipolar. Some of his true story is told by one of the characters onstage, a student who wonders what his life (after diagnosis) will be.
Burton wanted information. But it was hard to find true-life stories, especially ones told by young people living with a mental-health diagnosis. So he went looking, collected the stories of real people, and with Hofmeister shaped them into The Manic Monologues.
WTT’s production, with smart and emotion-centered direction from Ashley Puckett Gonzales and associate director Alli Franken—they worked together on the choreography as well— has a rocking band up on a balcony (with band leader/music supervisor Rebekah Prim, and musicians Michael Dill and Randy Linberg). Ryan Burkle’s lighting and Emilee Biles’ sound design add to the good energy created by Kae Styron’s colorful, multi-level set. The eight cast members all seem to be strong singers, drummers, guitarists, etc.—and beyond the ensemble, several prove memorable soloists. (The show’s music coordinator is Pamela McLain.)
Monologues alternate with song and dance, and with original songs that are stories in themselves. The actors speak to us from the stage, perched on scaffolding, and sometimes from the three balconies that surround WTT’s high-rafters stage space. There are solo spots and collective episodes where the whole cast comes together to support one another or make an important point. There’s a strong dynamic here, reaching out toward our “hearts & minds”—and it’s both a challenge and a pleasure to get to know the people these actors bring to life.
To tell much more would be giving too much of the experience away. It’s a show that ought to be seen,enjoyed, learned from—and taken to heart. The terrific cast members are: Ellen Eberhardt, Elliot Esquivel, Marianne Galloway, Brian Gonzalez, Cheyenne Haynes, Blake Henri, Johanna Nchekwube, and Daniel Vanegas. Tell me where any or all of them are performing next, and I’ll be there.
WHEN: April 19-30
WHERE: WaterTower Theatre, 15650 Addison Road, Addision TX
