In “femiNAZI”, playwright and Shepherd University senior Allex Benedict spins society on it’s head to question what would happen if we sent two frat boys, Guy and Dick, to an alternate reality where a matriarchy has been the normal since the beginning? The answer to that question happens to be a clever production that thrives on the deliberate camp of the entire show.
Guy and Dick, played by Adam Wilson and Dylan Meushaw, are transported to an alternate reality through the hilarious machinations of Guy’s mad-scientist ex, Lab Tech, played by TK Lindsay. Guy and Dick are brothers in all but blood, and have little to no respect for anyone but themselves. That changes once they experience the societal role reversal that awaits on the other side of Lab Tech’s portal, which they thought was simply an “awesome porno booth”.
The alternate dimension could have been played with the simple ruling of role reversal, but Benedict, director Alex Hale, and the cast subverts the comparisons to allow deeper observations in the alternate society. The matriarchy overly sexualizes men but is not aware of what a “kindle app” is or why the books inside the app hold much different perspectives than their own. Guy and Dick’s independence and respect for only themselves is treated with backlash for them affiliating with the “meninist” movement.
The minimal amount of props and the use of projector slides to change the scenes work well along side the camp that the cast and director Hale bring to the table. The minimalism allows all attention to be directed to the ridiculous antics and conversations between the boys and characters like the Dean, whom Diedre Morrison plays with wonderful comedic timing when she tells Guy mid-sentence to “put his f—king hand down” with such dry wit and conviction.
Hats off to Benedict, Hale, and the cast: the task of handling the themes and comedy of the play could have came off as ham-fisted. Instead, “femiNAZI” translates to the stage with witty subversion alongside a surprising amount of heart.
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