Mike Daisey's heart is in the right place. His 2010 monologue The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is a look into globalization as it impacts the lives of those living in squalor and working for almost nothing. Daisey's The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs told of the author's trip to China to visit some of the factories where Apple products are made.
Excerpts from the original monologue were featured on public radio's “This American Life.” Facts of the monologue were called into question, forcing the show to retract the entire episode. Daisey later revised the script, claiming that his current draft is an improvement and making it available royalty-free to the public. At the end of this month, The World's Stage Theatre Company is mounting a production of the monologue featuring Robby McGhee.
McGhee is a versatile talent onstage. He's worked extensively in improv comedy with T.I.M. (The Improvised Musical ) and has shown a great talent for drama as well in various performances. McGhee has a physically powerful stage presence that often softens into gentle warmth. Though there is an undeniable, inherent interest in the work of fabulist Daisey, it’s McGhee's challenge to deliver the monologue's 15,000-plus words in a way that will hold an audience's attention. McGhee has shown the kind of attention to detail that could make almost any monologue work.
The World's Stage’s production of The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs runs May 31-June 2 at Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St. For tickets call 414-278-0765 or visit nextact.org.
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Theatre Happenings
The World's Stage Theatre Company also opens the Milwaukee premiere of Waiting…A Song Cycle this month. The musical about five different couples negotiating the difficulties of love runs May 23-26 at the Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St. For ticket reservations, visit waiting.bpt.me.
Next month, Morningstar Productions stages Captive . Alan Atwood's suspenseful comedy about a young man on the run from the police who seeks refuge in an elderly lady's apartment runs June 7-21 at Eastbrook Church, 5353 N. Green Bay Ave. For tickets, call 414-228-5220, Ext. 385.
