Michael Hollinger’s new stage work, Hope & Gravity, was originally entitled Ups & Downs and set largely on an elevator. We’re really glad he changed the title, and while the elevator remains part of the play, it’s less prominent as a setting.
The play received its world premiere only last month at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre Company, which used just five actors to portray the play’s nine characters. Circle Theatre’s production will be the second one, and it will use a cast of nine. Hollinger cobbled the work from of a series of playlets, placing the scenes out of chronological order so that important dramatic details are revealed at the right time. (Stolen Shakespeare Guild’s recent The Last Five Years played a similar trick with time. What’s up with that?) Details seem to be rather scarce about exactly what the play is about, though reviewers in Pennsylvania praised its humor and emotional depth.
Given the playwright’s history with Circle Theatre (which staged his Ghost-Writer, Incorruptible, and Opus previously), he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt. The latter two productions received rave reviews in this publication, which can only bode well for Hope & Gravity.
[box_info]Hope & Gravity runs Jun 19-Jul 19 at Circle Theatre, 230 W 4th St, FW. Tickets are $10-30. Call 817-877-3040.[/box_info]
