Mentions/Awards/Kudos:
Top ten shows of 2008 - Mark Bretz, Ladue News
"... The following productions are offered as the 10 best of 2008...
The Dead Guy, by Hot City Theatre. A scathingly funny and also highly disturbing view of America’s slavish devotion to celebrity worship and the hallowed “15 minutes of fame.” Marty Stanberry’s direction was insightful, clever and spot-on, as were the performances of Rusty Gunther, Lavonne Byers, Adam Flores, Susie Wall, G.P. Hunsaker and Melissa Rae Brown"
KDHX Roses of 2008 - Best use of technology:
HotCity's production of Eric Coble's The Dead Guy. Incorporating a simultaneous "broadcast" of a video recording of the performance taking place before the audience's eyes demonstrates what videographers already know: seeing an event as it occurs is one thing, while seeing the same event on videotape (however "impartial" the recording may be intended to be) is something else entirely.
Photos by Wesley Law
Critics' Reviews
"Congratulations! You have been chosen to star in a reality show running every night for a week in "real time" (edited, of course) and the premise is you have to spend $1 million while the audience watches. Sound too good to be true? Well, in HotCity's terrific production of The Dead Guy, it is really happening to Eldon Phelps (Rusty Gunther) of Leadville, Colorado. Oh, but there is a catch: At the end of the week, Eldon has to die on national television. And then there's a catch in the catch: Viewers will choose his means of demise: peacefully in his sleep, shot by a gun with spider venom on the bullet, run over by a bus, or a chain saw "accident." The audience can also suggest other means by which Eldon could expire. Who would accept such a deal? Well, Eldon, for one, and I'd bet he's not the only person in the world who would at least consider it.
Gina Yaweth (check out the last name) played by Lavonne Byers, is a ruthless, ratings-obsessed producer (is that redundant?) who finds Eldon through the recommendations of his friends. She tells him she was looking for a "loser," and his name came up quite a few times. Eldon's not too happy with that description, but his life is dismal: He doesn't have a job, his girlfriend dumped him, and his prospects are limited. He's not the sharpest knife in the box, and after we meet his mother (Susie Wall) and brother, Virgil, (G.P. Hunsaker) we see his mental acuity runs in the family. So, Eldon signs his life away, and his adventures begin.
Eldon's every move is recorded by Dougie (Adam Flores) who has to carry a video camera on his shoulder though the whole play-a feat in itself. The set places us among screens: the background is a big screen which also serves as a backdrop for where we are at any given time, a bar, convenience store, Disneyland, a children's hospital, etc. Two smaller screens mounted near the ceiling on either side provide the record of Eldon's life, as we see him bumble through his days toward the grand finale. Each night the TV audience votes on how he should die. He becomes a worldwide phenomenon and, for a while at least, he enjoys his fame.
All the actors involved are at the top of their games with Gunther first among equals. I've seen him in several shows, and it was clear he had this performance in him. It's gratifying that he finally gets to give it. He has a porn star mustache and sideburns and a persistent case of bed head. He looks like Jason Lee's Earl and he's even funnier. Byers' crisp, cool, cruel Gina vacillates between the flat Midwestern tones she uses in her offstage voice and the British accent she assumes as hostess of "The Dead Guy," also the title of the reality show. Melissa Rae Brown is sweet as Earl's girlfriend, efficient as "Dr. Nancy," a pediatrician in a children's hospital, and both she and Wall are hilarious as "Disney hookers," Mr. Toad's real "wild ride." Wall's Roberta McCoy, mother of Earl, is her most effective part (of three) and Hunsaker is funniest as Virgil, though his other two roles are performed ably also. Flores has the least to do, but he does it well and he's never offstage.
The whole cast seems to be having fun, and so does the audience. Eric Coble has written a fine black comedy, and Marty Stanberry directs impeccably. Mark Wilson's simple set enhanced by Alan Chlebowski's enormously effective lights give just the right look to every scene. Scott Breihan's costumes are appropriate to each character, and wigs help define those who play multiple parts. John Armstrong's sound is crisp and clear. There are no missteps in production.
But there is a dark underbelly amidst the hilarity, and that's the fact that this premise doesn't seem terribly far-fetched. Suspending disbelief about the legality of such a program (and the fact that Eldon buys a private jet for under a million, even on E-Bay!) it's clear that this is a horror story. To what lengths will a producer and her network go for ratings? What will audiences watch before a sense of outrage is expressed? (To be fair, there are protesters mentioned.) Have we become so jaded, so accustomed to the television as a part of our quotidian existence, that we will endure, even participate in, anything that is placed in front of us? As Gina points out, the FCC doesn't allow profanity, sex or drugs, but death is fine. There are some sleazy reality shows out there now, and at least one involving terminally ill people proposed for the future which brings us one step closer to the abyss. Eldon, I'm afraid we could be seeing you real soon, buddy."
- Andrea Braun, KDHX
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By Gerry Kowarsky
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
11/25/2008
Try to imagine the crassest possible setup for a reality television program. You would be hard put to sink lower than Eric Coble did in "The Dead Guy," a caustic sendup of voyeurism in popular culture. Coble's broad satire hits its targets in HotCity Theatre's hilarious production.
"The Dead Guy" is about a reality show whose name is also "The Dead Guy." It is the creation of Gina Yaweth, a producer who is desperate to salvage a failing career. Her idea is to give an ordinary guy a million dollars to blow in one week. He has to spend the money that quickly because at the end of the week he dies. In addition to watching the orgy of spending, the television audience gets to vote on how the "dead guy" dies.
Lavonne Byers is brilliant as Gina. Byers and her director, Marty Stanberry, understand the importance of applying a light touch to satire, even when the writing is heavy-handed. Instead of presenting a cartoon villain, Byers makes Gina a believable character. She is committed to a grisly path, but she is still capable of reflection and some measure of empathy. This grounding in reality makes Gina more disquieting than a caricature would have been and pays big dividends late in the show, when there needs to be doubt about how the play will end.
To star in her show, Gina recruits a pliable sad sack named Eldon Phelps. Rusty Gunther portrays Eldon as a sweet loser with a limited ability to see beyond the present. Gunther's charming performance beautifully captures Eldon's well-meaning ineptness and his surprising capacity for growth.
Melissa Rae Brown, Susie Wall and G.P. Hunsaker provide excellent support in a number of small roles. Particularly as Eldon's girlfriend (Brown), mother (Wall) and brother (Hunsaker), they bring out the humor in their characters without resorting to condescending exaggeration.
Adam Flores projects an appropriate sense of discomfort as the cameraman who shadows Eldon after he agrees to Gina's terms. Mark Wilson's imposing set design incorporates a pair of large-screen monitors for live shots from the onstage camera. Flores' camera work is a plus when it can be seen, but the wireless feed from the camera was unreliable at last Sunday evening's performance.
Scott Breihan's costume designs and Alan Chlebowski's lighting design help establish the production's sense of reality, as do high-quality video elements provided by videographer Chris Rohlfing, video editor Maureen O'Brien and video designer Tim Thomson.