Review: MT's "She Kills Monsters" Has Game
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
It’s a play whose driving engine is a game that includes 4-, 6-, 8-, 10- and 20-side dice, each of which is tossed by the “dungeon master” to reveal the fate of the journey and each of its characters. It can also be complicated, and full of misdirection and fun.
The same can is true of Market Theater’s “She Kills Monsters,” which opened Friday. The breezy and sometimes quirky comedy is part mystery, part ode to the alpha geek dungeon master (including an oversized Renaissance Fair black cloak and imaginary girlfriend), part nightmarish mean girls, and part exploration of teen angst and part exploration of what can and often does go wrong in life.
The story’s driving tragedy is the death of Tilly Evans (with a fine and subtly snarky performance by Rosie Thompson, who sometimes channels Bill Murray), an Ohio 15-year-old who dies in a car alongside her parents leaving her older sister Agnes alone and still grieving as the play opens. Thompson found the perfect spot in a challenging role as the ghost-not-a-ghost of Tilly, and her swagger makes things fun, especially in the first act.
Agnes (Courtney Dorn’s performance is brilliant), discovers a notebook which reveals her sister was most at home in the role-playing adventure game Dungeons and Dragons. The notebook is a module, a gaming scenario, created to find refuge and an attempt to make sense of the often-cruel world of high school.
Dorn was both engaging throughout and brought an electrifying energy to production, pumping up scenes which might have otherwise dragged. A lot was asked of her, from portraying extreme emotions, to a spirited dance off with demons, and Dorn was more than up to the tasks.
Agnes is a teacher at Tilly’s old school, putting her in contact with some of the young men and women who, it turns out, were inspiration for the module’s demons, sexy elves, cheerleader succubi, and a menagerie of the less defined characters of the chorus.
Her discovering leads to a decision to enter the D&D world created by her departed sister, one led by alpha geek Chuck Biggs (Wilkes Kidd dives deep into the clueless and nerdy as the Dungeon Master, and provides the story’s best comic moments), attempting to heal her own wounds of regret. Kidd’s dungeon master brings laughs when they help the most.
Under the direction of Tim Spears, the story is mostly compelling, especially in the second act, more than meeting the challenges of the material and layout of the Market Theatre stage. There were many opportunities for mishaps with monsters, dragons, staged fights and scene changes, but none found purchase Friday night. The cast was tight, finding just the right timing to makes things work.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of the cast and director is overcoming an often campy, sophomoric comedy that almost tips at times into cartoonishly dumb due to the stage play by Qui Nguyen. But Market Theatre mines the best out of a challenging play, bringing life and fun to what could have been nothing but forced silliness.
The cast and crew manage to find the heart of the play beating in its emotional resonance. Despite the play’s sword fighting, monster slaying and even once a character literally having their heart ripped out, the story is about the wounds of adolescence that come from loving and not being loved in return. The adventures into fantasy are paths to find their real home in the realm of flesh, blood and emotions.
Market Theatre rolled the dice on this one and it turned out well. This invigorating, heartfelt and sometimes dopey play ends with kindness and warmth. Such is always welcome.
“She Kills Monsters” continues through Nov. 20 at the Market Theatre; (864) 729-2999;
Photo: Kelly T. Images