Review: GOD OF CARNAGE at EPAC

Things get messy, figuratively and literally, in EPAC’s current comedy, God of Carnage. Directed by Ephrata favorite, Ben Galosi, “G.O.C.” tells the story of two couples brought together by their children’s playground fracas.  Soon, civility goes out the window, and a heck of a lot more goes on the floor.

Set in a posh NYC apartment, Lynne DeMers-Hunt and Travis Zimmerman star as the hosting couple Veronica and Michael Novak. DeMers-Hunt’s character may be named Veronica but she is 100% “Karen”.  She excels at entitlement and passive-aggressiveness. It’s not easy to play an unlikable character, but that’s a testament to DeMers-Hunt’s talents. Zimmerman gives Michael an engaging and layered performance.  He goes back and forth between totally supporting his wife and downright antagonizing her.  

Sean Caldwell and Tatiana Dalton play the other couple, Alan and Annette Raleigh.  Caldwell was very effective in scenes that show his frustration and contempt.  His body language and facial expressions highlight his disgust for such a “touchy-feely” meeting. Dalton’s Annette is probably the most sympathetic of the four.  She is not bossy like Veronica, undecided like Michael, nor disengaged like her husband.  Her biggest flaw is her unmitigated anxiety and its consequences.

Director, Galosi and scenic designer, Jordan Janota go for a relatively abstract set.  Rather than focus on an apartment that is both urban and upscale, the back wall looked like Fred Flintstone’s living room complete with random cave drawings.  The rest of the set was awash in a red hue reflecting the inevitable verbal and physical altercations throughout the evening. While I appreciated what they were trying to do, it didn’t totally work for me.

While there were plenty of laughs, there were a few times that got uncomfortably intense.  After Annette gets sick of Alan always being on his cell phone, she drops it into a vase of water.  While this was a funny bit of business, Alan’s response wasn’t, it bordered on domestic violence.  The audience seemed to be more guarded in their laughter from then on.  But perhaps, that was the point.  After all, aren’t we all just a bunch of “nee-ander-talls”?