Review: MEGALODON at Ronin Theatre Collaborative

MEGALODON is an exploration of the human mind. Ronin Theatre Collaborative’s production of Nicholas Walker Herbert’s new play breaks narrative norms. The play is rich in its themes: mental health, identity, and trauma, to name a few. These themes are interwoven in a way that is both very conceptual but with a completely cohesive narrative. Herbert has a way of layering these themes and revealing them throughout the story in a way that will leave audiences thinking about the play long after watching.

Cass (Lily Norton), a marine biologist, is convinced of the existence of a megalodon after an encounter that left several of her friends dead. Her brother, Chandler (Joe Guffey), is not convinced of the monster’s existence but still wants to help his sister. Meanwhile, Hannah (Alex Frost) looks for her brother, Vogan (Tim Lang), who went missing after a breakup with his girlfriend, Kim (Marcella Grassa).

Vogan is one of the most intriguing characters in the play, as he grapples with his existence and navigates himself; the audience is navigating him in the same way. Lang’s performance makes the character. With his disappearance, Vogan is one of the centers of the play’s mystery; Lang captures the essence of someone struggling with their own existence so well, while keeping the character shrouded in a layer of mystery.

Between Herbert’s writing and BJ Garrett’s direction, MEGALODON has a very interesting way of mirroring and creating foils of the characters and themes throughout the show. The character Garrett (Marc White) is an excellent opposite to Vogan. He, unlike Vogan, is secure in himself and his identity. This well-rounded approach to storytelling helps ground the world of the play.

Norton does an excellent job portraying Cass. Cass, although deeply impacted by trauma, is fiery, determined, and strong-willed. She captures the burnout from trauma very well. In addition to the moving moments from her character, she is great with comedy, providing several shocking moments throughout the show. Her scenes with Shelby (Eric Mitchell), a self-proclaimed cryptozoologist, are very funny. The pair’s dynamic together has a very nice balance with Cass’s background in science and Shelby’s interest in pseudoscience.

Chandler and Hannah both face a similar problem of not knowing how to help their sibling but desperately wanting to. Chandler takes a tough-love approach, while Hannah’s is more anxious and dotting. Frost’s performance as Hannah is gripping from the start; the desperation of her character is well-portrayed. Guffey’s performance as Chandler is very comedic, but he captures the often-relatable feeling of wanting to help someone but not knowing the way to get there. Chandler and Hannah’s characters make a compelling parallel. 

In addition to their siblings being parallels, Vogan and Cass are as well. There are several excellent moments throughout the show that get inside their heads simultaneously. These scenes serve as a thematic through-line for both stories. They show that, despite their scenarios being extremely different, mental health problems can manifest in similar ways.

Although delving too deep into certain aspects of the performance’s story and design would ruin some of the mysteries in the show, certain parts still deserve highlighting. The costume and prosthetics designer, Alex Frost, accomplished things that will drop audiences’ jaws.

The lighting designer, Kody Hernandez, uses color in the performance in a way that amplifies the mood in higher-tension scenes and adds a layer to inform the audience of the characters’ mental state. The scenic design, by Marcel Williams, works very well with this lighting. One of the major set pieces, a colorful mural, works very well with the colors. The scenic and lighting design develop the world of a coastal town very well.

Ronin Theatre Collaborative’s production of MEGALODON is provoking in its storytelling; it leaves a lot of room for audience interpretation and, with so much to notice in the play, every viewer will take away something different from it. MEGALODON is a truly unique piece of theatre in an amazing way.

MEGALODON plays at the Arizona Irish Cultural Center through August 2nd and the Main Street Creative Arts Center through August 23rd.

Ronin Theatre Collaborative -- https://ronintheatreco.net

Venues: Arizona Irish Cultural Center -- 106 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004-- https://www.azirish.org/ronin-theatre/

Main Street Creative Arts Center -- 933 E Main St, Mesa, AZ 85203

Photo Credit to Melody Knudson: Left to right: Marcella Grassa, Tim Lang, and Alex Frost

 

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