The Philalethis fall season comes to an end this weekend as their production of Elmer Rice’s “The Adding Machine” makes its premiere in Rocky 200.
Directed by Christopher Campbell-Orrock ’13, “The Adding Machine” tells the story of what happens to a diligent worker named Mr. Zero who murders his boss after being replaced at his job by an adding machine. Campbell-Orrock has done an admirable job of helming the piece, balancing the show’s straightforward first act and more abstract second one with ease. It’s due to his direction that the play’s message about the role of machines in our society comes across as especially potent, even decades after the piece originally premiered.
With strong lead actors and a solid ensemble to back them up, the performances in “The Adding Machine” were all exemplary. David Waldinger ’13 was most believable in capturing the transformations of Mr. Zero throughout the play, and his scenes with Julia Sharpe-Levine ’14 (as Daisy Diana Dorothea Devore) were highlights of the production. The show’s supporting players were just as remarkable, especially in their quasi-musical descriptions of office life and in their powerful role as Mr. Zero’s jury.
Set designer Olivia McGiff ’14 and lighting designer Logan Woodruff ’14 have done a spectacular job of translating the play’s gloomy spirit onto the stage. Woodruff’s use of light bulbs throughout the performance space was nothing short of inventive and McGiff’s minimalistic scenery was suitably eerie for such a piece.
Performances of “The Adding Machine” continue in Rocky 200 tonight at 7 p.m. and tomorrow at 8 p.m.
