R/evolution, a new musical directed by Richard St George now playing at the Robert Moss Theater, is set 150 years in the future, when corporations rule instead of governments, and human emotions are regulated through “Psychothrobics”, a “hormonal control movement routine”. These calculated, precise, repetitive movements movements keep hormones in check and help keep people productive members of society. When people's hormones rage out of control, they are “swept” from the system and deprogrammed into a blank slate.
With a book by William Moulton and M. M. De Voe and music/lyrics by Moulton, R/evolution centers around Preen (Debbie Williams) and Tech (Mykel Vaughn), two high-ranking people in Edencorps who must churn out profitable results for the venture capitalists (Eric Padilla and Jessi St. George) sponsoring the research. Enter Abby (Alison Rose Munn), a woman who was regenerated from parts of her DNA and is sent to the archives department in the care of Repo (James Park). When she shows Preen, Tech, and Repo that she is very much alive and very much “hormonal”, it puts them all at risk for being swept from the corporation. But through Abby, they learn more about themselves and struggle with what it means to really be human.
R/evolution has a structure like a traditional musical: two-act structure, legit singing coupled with jazz and modern dance choreography. These familiar grounds allows the rest of the design elements to soar into the multimedia futuristic genre without the musical becoming too intangible. Lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker’s use of hospital lights overhead gives the environment the sterile feel of a laboratory. The costumes, designed by Ari Fulton, complement the lighting design with gray and white functional clothing: uniform, void of individuality and personality, and striving away from emotion. It is amazing that Abby’s costume — two french braids, a gray shirt, jeans and sneakers — can say so much about her personality even though it would be deemed a “standard outfit” in our own time period.
David Bengali’s projection design and Scott Dahl’s set design also establish the tone for the futuristic world of R/evolution. The sharp angles and geometric shapes on the floor and layers of scrim help us to envision a world that is full of order and rigidness, purpose and direction. Not every technological feat has a projection, but there are enough to stimulate the imagination to fill in the blanks. Coupled with the projections, movement patterns create a complete picture of what characters onstage are experiencing.
The premise of R/evolution is daring: a multimedia futuristic musical in the midst of a theatre scene that tends to focus on the real. But the story of R/evolution is as real as it gets. We are headed into a future where creativity and experimentation are on the chopping block in a race to “the bottom line”. R/evolution forces us to confront that impending reality and get in touch with all aspects of ourselves that we find beautiful and ugly. It’s an effort to show that the future, as we can know it, does not need to be so cold after all.
