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THEATER REVIEW Darkly comedic 'Divine Lunacy' gives insight into mental illness New play 'Divine Lunacy' explores mental illness Comment By Bill Varble For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Bill Varble For the Tidings Posted Oct. 18, 2015 at 2:57 PM By Bill Varble For the Tidings Posted Oct. 18, 2015 at 2:57 PM » Social News A sub-genre of the musical in Hollywood’s Golden Age kicked into gear when somebody said, “Hey, let’s put on a show!” In David King Gabriel and Peter Quince’s “Divine Lunacy,” that character is Joey/Davy (a fine Nathan Monks), who has bipolar disorder. All he has to do in the next three weeks is write the book, compose the music, write the lyrics, hire actors and technicians, create sets and props, rehearse, publicize ... and save the world. The manic phase of bipolar disorder is characterized by euphoria, racing thoughts, grand goals, high-risk behavior, reduced sleep, poor judgment. “Divine Lunacy” premiered Thursday evening at Temple Emek Shalom in Ashland with the noble aim of lifting the shroud of stigma and indifference in which we wrap mental illness. It is an intelligent, heartfelt look at a heartbreaking issue — with great songs by Gabriel. Joey/Davy has quit his meds (Gabe Ash’s set — furniture all askew — reflects Joey/Davy’s inner world, as do some quirky costumes). Cue up conflicts with Joey/Davy’s wife, Ann (Rose Passione), who struggles to cope, and his brother, Joseph (Gabriel), who was hospitalized for the same illness years earlier and can’t handle being close to it. For plot, that’s it. In the real world nothing happens except that Joey/Davy tries suicide and is hospitalized. The action is in his fevered brain, which doctors would say has disturbed circuitry and chemistry. The voices often heard by those with mental illness are personified as characters in Joey/Davy’s inner world. There’s Imaginary Ann (Passione), Imaginary Joseph (Gabriel) and Imaginary Irina (Kaitie Warner), each of whom has a real-world analog. The phantoms enter upstage through a glowing backdrop that looks like an annular eclipse (a black hole? an eyeball?). They sing and dance up a storm. Gabriel has written some dynamite songs, including “Opening Number” (“It’s all about me!”), “Gloomy” (“Which illness is best?”) and “I Know,” in which Monks sums up the choice he faces: Suffer the voices, or take your meds and become a zombie. “Divine Lunacy” is a sometimes harrowing, sometimes darkly humorous look at mental illness, not clinically but in existential terms. If there’s ever been mental illness in your family or among your friends, take note. That’s not the same as saying the play is entirely successful as theater. Although it brims with good songs and compelling insights, it sorely lacks narrative momentum. Aside from the suicide attempt, nothing happens. Instead of driving the action, Joey/Davy’s illness gives us episodic fantasy sequences, some of which (a therapy session with Joey/Davy, Ann and Irina as a very funny shrink, for example), are highly entertaining, but seem to drift before us as phantoms, outside of any context. In another age we put the mentally ill in cages as roadside attractions for the rubes to laugh at. “Divine Lunacy” is ironically similar — step right up and see Joey/Davy’s world — although obviously it’s coming from a place of compassion instead of cruelty. The hallmarks of musical comedy (a plot, complications, rising action, a climax, songs that advance the story) are pretty much absent. The authors seem more interested in sending a message than in creating some kind of juice to drive these characters and make us care about them. There’s a whiff of the idea (see the title) that genius and madness are close cousins. Indeed, the list of artists who may have suffered from bipolar disorder runs from Vincent van Gogh and Virginia Woolf to Catherine Zeta Jones and Sinead O’Connor, but chances are that given the choice, few would opt for the illness. “Divine Lunacy” needs some dramaturgical therapy — and some conflict — but is must-see theater for those interested in its subject. It runs about two hours and 40 minutes and would seem longer except for the talents of the four actors, all of whom are terrific singers. There were some issues with sound on opening night, but that should get sorted out. It runs at 7 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 25. For tickets, see www.divinelunacy.org . Reach Medford freelance writer Bill Varble at varble.bill @gmail.com. By Bill Varble For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Bill Varble For the Tidings Posted Oct. 18, 2015 at 2:57 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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