Right around the same time that Quasi Mondo was opening its latest show, scientists had discovered the most earth-like planet to come along so far: Kepler-186f. It’s roughly the same size as Earth and roughly the same distance from its sun as we are from ours. It’s 500 light years from Earth. So if we decide to go visit, it’s going to take a really, really long time to get there. The Quasi Mondo explores the prospect of deep space travel this month in Bottle 99.
Billed as a “psychological cosmic ballet,” Bottle 99 is a story delivered entirely without dialogue that mixes dance with other elements of physical theatre in a remarkably tight interpretive package.
The story begins with a little monkey puppet getting shot into space and end with a very striking fusion between performers on the edge of a long journey. This particular space exploration has a kind of a 2001: A Space Odyssey feel about it from primate to advanced humans to something altogether more advanced, beautiful and exotic.
The physical aesthetic of this particular staged journey into the future is very clean and smooth. It’s advanced space exploration from a mid-20th century idea of what the future might look like: clean lines and sleek motions with white contrasting against black in a variety of different ways. There’s some blue light in there.
The monkey intro fades out and we have the crew emerging from primordial consciousness. The music that rises to prominence here and hangs on throughout the show has been composed by Wylie Hefti, who also appears in the show--listed in the program as the Navigator. It’s really beautiful stuff . . . mixing orchestral and instrumental moods with synth dance music that reminded me of a modern update of Larry Fast’s Synergy project of the ‘70sand ‘80s with a much more contemporary cinematic aesthetic. Very cool stuff.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
The story is told in abstractions. The 90 minutes drag a bit at times when the abstraction of the story favors aesthetics over storytelling, but for the most part, this is a thoroughly enjoyable journey with the Quasi Mondo. Directors Brian Rott and Jenni Reinke have found a good rhythm for the story.
Bottle 99 plays with shadows between explicit storytelling and something much more interpretive. Some of the explicitly sci-fi elements work quite well. They’re able to distill a man vs. machine narrative into a breathtakingly short little nonverbal drama onstage with a performer named Dobbs playing the groups automaton which achieves full AI status before being forcibly returned to servitude in a very gracefully-rendered bit.
Beyond the sci-fi milieu, the narrative works quite well as the story of a group of people relating to each other on a long journey. Jessi Miller plays a geneticist who makes a connection with a nutritionist played by Kirk Thomsen. The relationship plays out in subtleties. It’s remarkably intricate and complicated even without the slightest hint of dialogue. With plenty of experience in Quasi Mondo shows, Miller in particular has a very appealing talent for carving a great deal of characterization out of every echo of a second she’s onstage.
The rest of the ship’s crew pair into male-female relationships that echo through bigger conflicts that arise in the course of the drama.
The show looks pretty sharp. The aesthetic end of it can be fun to zone out to when the story takes a back seat to it. Brian Rott’s costume design provides just enough difference between the characters to keep them unique but not so much detail as to rob the aesthetic of its simple, clean uncluttered purity.
Though this is largely a very traditional physical theatre package, there is some interesting bits that feel remarkably fresh. There’s an interpersonal fusion that takes place at the end of the show. One by one, members of the ensemble onstage dancing with video projections of others in the ensemble. It’s kind of hypnotic. They’re all wearing white, so the projection of those they are dancing with sometimes comes to rest on top of them in a beautifully surreal visual duality that is by far the most innovative bit in the entire show. It’s such a simple effect, but there’s such an intriguing thematic depth to it.
The Quasi Mondo’s Bottle 99 runs through April 27th. For ticket reservations, visit the Quasi Mondo online.
