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Sunday, February 11, 2018

"Kodachrome" @ PCS

"Kodachrome" is a play of small moments, much like the photographs at its center. It is full of ruminations on the large and little things of life, and how one can sometimes turn into the other. It is a shoe perfectly-suited to its space in the Ellyn Bye Studio, the intimate size of the theatre makes for easy viewing of the frequent projections. The only element that is too small is the size of its cast. Meaning the number of characters each actor is supposed to play at times seemed to exceed a reasonable limit, causing the brief but somewhat frustrating loss of each individual arc as the viewer has to shift between them. The photographer/narrator helps a bit with some scene-setting that sometimes includes reminders about facts revealed much earlier in the play, but she too often seems to be talking a mile a minute, cramming quite a lot into ninety minutes without an intermission. Even with those minor quibbles, the play as a whole does manage to be emotionally resonant. (And since "Kodachrome" was not the play's original title, I can't even feel teased by the absence of the song.)