UCO beautifully revives ‘Six Women with Brain Death’
Originally staged in the mid 1980s, “Six Women with Brain Death or Expiring Minds Want to Know” is a satire on being female in America. Written by a group of women, with music and lyrics by Mark Houston, the episodic musical lambastes late 20th-century sexism and political realities for women. The material is unfortunately still fresh and pertinent.
Included are a critique of demanding soap opera “shippers” delivered by a soap opera character; a group of awkward operatic singers trying to break into the business; the forest creatures from “Bambi” celebrating the absence of hunters, only to receive a shock; a high school reunion that runs the gamut from “we haven’t changed” through “we can’t stand each other” to “we did share high school”; a game show with some interesting questions for its contestants; a very funny and very creepy duet between a severed head and her “friend”; an exploration of the inner life of Barbie and her lovers; and extraterrestrial marketing ventures. The language of the show is not particularly friendly to the Republican Party.
Although written for a cast of six women, director Steven Smeltzer chose to cast a wide range of women and to provide a supportive chorus rather than keep to only the six actors specified in the script. The result is a richer, more beautifully painted musical texture for all the choral numbers. Smeltzer also chose to use the entire room; the acoustics of the Jazz Lab make this very workable solution for placing a cast of 17 in the space.
The cast of talented and energetic artists served up some powerful ensemble performances; the first act closer “We’ve Arrived” and the second act finale numbers “Toll Road” and “Finale” filled the room with a lush rush of sound. Group performances, such as the transitions from episode to episode, took place everywhere in the room and delivered smart snark with vocal vitality
Standout solo performances included (but are by no means limited to): Hope Chancey as the very funny leader of the always inappropriate “Divas”; Laura Renfro as Flower and Hailey Hatfield as Marge in a piece that targets action films and Disney flicks; Maura McMurray as the failed prom queen candidate who comes to the reunion; and Kenadi Paredes as Jolene, the game show contestant who is just dying to win.
Costume design and set decoration are critical elements in supporting the show; the 1980s flavor is important to the feel of the show. There was no set per se, but the decoration and poster backdrop were perfect, as were the many copies of “The National Expirer” handled by the cast. While set decoration was uncredited, an acknowledgment was offered to the staff of the Mitchell Hall Scenic Shop. Costume designer Elisa Bierschenk dressed the period onto the actors in every scene. All of the clothing served to underline the period, the character and the satire — no mean feat.
Overall, “Six Women with Brain Death” was a wonderfully funny and grandly performed piece of social commentary. Check out other UCO College of Fine Arts and Design program performances on its website at cfad.uco.edu/ events.