Night of the Auk
Night of the Auk
Photograph: David Gazzo
Time Out rating:
<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
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<strong>Rating: </strong>5/5
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Time Out says
Mon Aug 13 2012
If this revival feels reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode, it’s with good reason: Playwright Arch Oboler made a name for himself penning radio horror scripts in the 1930s and ’40s. Set in the then-distant year 2000, 1956's Night of the Auk is the sci-fi tale of a crew returning from the first manned mission to the Moon—a historic milestone that was still 13 years in the future when this play debuted on Broadway. The piece was originally directed by Sidney Lumet and performed by an impressive A-list cast, yet it closed after only eight performances. Oboler’s pretentious script is an earnest rumination on a dichotomous moment in human history, when the giddy, triumphant joy of the early Space Age met the cruel anxiety of the Atomic Age. But whatever existential soul-searching Oboler intended to evoke, the script now seems dated and overwrought. Director Adam Levi’s campy production mines the source for laughs but never quite finds a mother lode, forcing the cast to rely on clichés and comedic affectations. Admittedly, the sketch-show approach seemed to delight the crowd, but this reviewer felt a little lost in space. (Visit fringenyc.org for more information.)—Scott Wooledge
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