Review: INTERLUDE at New Conservatory Theatre Center

Interlude

Written by Harrison David Rivers

Directed by ShawnJ West

It's the dark ugly days of August 2020 and COVID isolation and the specter of a 2nd Trump election loom large over writer Jesse Howard who's hunkered down at his childhood home in Manhattan, Kansas with his conservative Christian parents. What transpires in this beautifully written and spoken audio drama is a rumination on where he's bound existentially and practically.

Stricken by writer's block after the horrific murders of George Floyd, Trayvon, Breonna and many others while still reeling from the murder of his activist lover Neil, Howard explains his reasoning for committing his thoughts to tape: to work out his feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety. Removing the exposition and diving right into the narrative is the creative structure of Harrison David Rivers, who I figure may be the model for this contemplative character.

Through a series of vignettes separated by jazz interludes and wonderfully paired with visual graphics Howard rummages through his childhood effects while recording his thoughts on his first camp crush, interracial romances with BLM activist Neil and a handsome Luca from Italy. His attempt at learning survival skills from the Boy Scouts is a failure and he finds beauty in the wide-open Kansas night sky.

Actor H. Adam Harris is unseen, yet through the power of his vocal performance he becomes a fully fleshed character. His delivery of River's dialogue is almost musical like the jazz interludes that sandwich each piece. In Interlude he revisits his character of Jesse from NCTC's critically acclaimed world premiere of Rivers' This Bitter Earth in the 2017-18 Season. Supported by Elton Bradman's sound design and technical direction from Carlos Aceves, Interlude is a gentle yet pointedly astute view on one mans search for connection and meaning in this precarious time of chaos and isolation.

Interlude will be available for streaming March 1 - 24. Admission is pay-what-you-wish, $0 - $40. Tickets are available at nctcsf.org.