Review: REALMS OF THE UNTOLD; Intriguing, if Not Fully-Realized Tales of Terror

Just in time for Halloween, Orlando theatre Production Company Dark Side of Saturn introduces a new collection of short plays collectively titled REALMS OF THE UNTOLD. The show, written by Corey Volence (Orlando Fringe's KEY OF E), plays through October 10th at The Venue. Clearly inspired by classic horror and terror anthology series THE TWILIGHT ZONE, REALMS OF THE UNTOLD boasts six fairly intriguing premises; however, the execution of each, in terms of writing and performance, varies greatly from scene to scene. The vignettes are ultimately an enjoyable precursor to the rest of the spooky holiday attractions around town, but they don't rise to the goosebump-inspiring level that you would hope to find in a show subtitled "Six Tales of the Strange and Macabre."

Simplistically staged, each vignette is bookended by a Rod Serling-style monologue, however, on the night that I attended, it was often difficult to hear, as the clips routinely began before the polite post-scene applause had ended; just one of the handful of technical glitches on the night.

The first scene, "In the Blood," features Ken Luzzander as Victor, an acclaimed actor at the end of his career, who is sharing a dressing room with John Reid Adams' Jack, an understudy in for an actor who mysteriously died during the previous night's performance; a fact that seems oddly unimportant to either man. As the two chat pre-show, Jack asks his idol for advice, and Victor Shocks him by admitting that his success was all due to selling his soul to The Devil.

Jack tries to reassure Victor that he surely earned it all through talent and hard work, which unfortunately might end up having devastating effects.

The scene is fun, with a number of theatrical in-jokes, but much of the interaction is lost, because Luzzander's dialogue is often difficult to understand. Unfortunately, that became an on-going issue in every vignette in which he appeared.

Jan Taylor Hendricks stars in the next scene, "The Old Swimmin' Hole," easily the most fully-realized and impactful of the show. Hendricks' Samantha recounts the childhood events that lead to her being still traumatized decades later.

Samantha grew up in a Southern town, raised by her Hungarian grandmother. Despite the oppressive summer heat, all of the neighborhood children refused to go anywhere near the local swimming hole, for fear of what lurked inside. Despite promising her grandmother that she would stay away, Samantha gave into her cruel peers when they dared her to go for a swim.

In the scene, Hendricks delivers a very affecting performance, showing sides of both the terrified little girl and the tormented adult woman.

The final scene of the first act, "A Glimpse between the Cracks," features Luzzander as Dr. Clay, a linguist who has been committed following a mass-murder. Monica Tituss plays a psychologist who must determine if his madness requires a lobotomy.

Clay believes that he has translated an ancient manuscript that summons forth individuals who live in between the cracks of our reality. In telling his tale, Luzzander gives his best performance of the night, but again much is hard to distinguish. While ambiguousness is always welcome in tales of the supernatural, even after a day to think about it, the ending of this scene makes little to no sense to me.

The second act opens with "The Problem with Forever," in which Chaz Krivan is about to be turned by his vampire girlfriend (Tituss). Despite being in love, he wants to make sure that he completely understands the arrangement before he commits to eternal life.

Easily the funniest vignette of the night, the two banter back-and-forth about the pros and cons of living forever; and Tituss' vampiress recounts a cute bit about the truth about Bram Stoker and Dracula.

That is followed by "One Minute 'til Midnight," a scene that focuses on America's potential use of its nuclear stockpile. Topper (Miles Berman) is training Woods (Chaz Krivan), a new recruit, in their secret, secluded bunker. Despite being considered the most boring post in the Air Force, today is different.

Again, having a conclusion that leaves the audience asking questions fits perfectly in the genre, but having a conclusion that leaves the audience asking what actually happened is never a good thing in any type of storytelling.

The night ends with "How to Sell Your Soul Wholesale," bringing the show full circle. After a disappointing life, Rose (Hendricks) wants a second chance. In exchange, she is willing to sell her soul to The Devil (Luzzader). However, what she believes her soul is worth, doesn't exactly match up with what he is willing to offer.

What follows is a fun negotiation that ends up providing the most thought-provoking lessons of the night.

REALMS OF THE UNTOLD is a piece that seems to be not yet complete. While it very rarely rises to the level of horror for which it is striving, the framework of six fantastically thrilling stories is clearly there. Often it feels as if Volence is pushing for the clever button with which to end each scene, despite the fact that the preceding action hasn't yet earned the result. That being typed, I would not be surprised that, with some more fine-tuning, REALMS OF THE UNTOLD became a Halloween tradition in Orlando.

The purchase tickets to this unique show, you can visit Dark Side of Saturn's website. The show runs October 4th, 8th, 9th, and 10th at The Venue.

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Did REALMS OF THE UNTOLD get you in the Halloween spirit? Let me know what you thought in the comments below, or by "Liking" and following BWW Orlando on Facebook and Twitter using the buttons below. You can also chat with me about the show on Twitter @BWWMatt. If you want to follow along with my "366 in 366" articles, you can check out #BWW366in366 on Twitter.

Photo Credit: Dark Side of Saturn

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