Theatre MSU will perform the fairly recently written play “Omnium Gatherum,” meaning a collection of peculiar souls. The highly contrastive collection of oppositional characters takes place at Suzie’s dinner party inside a nearby crater moments after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
These particular souls, whom she has invited, are highly opinionated individuals who interact with one another based on their own agenda.
“They aren’t necessarily the sort of peculiar meaning ‘strange,'” theater instructor Kevin Kern said. “Peculiar in this sense means extreme.” He’s right.
The play is a fictive work of art, but its characters are so real they are almost stereotypical. Suzie is a homemaker similar to Martha Stewart who desires nothing more than to serve the most delectable dinner including Belgian endive, Anjou pear salad and Columbia River salmon. And of course, there’s plenty of wine.
Among her eight guests, Suzie has invited Roger, a conservative novelist similar to Tom Clancy. Also, at the table sits Jeff, a firefighting member of the 9/11 rescue team. Khalid is a Muslim Cambridge professor who voices negative commentaries concerning the United States’ relations with the Middle East.
Lydia is an active feminist vegan with a degree in women’s studies. Terrence is an English critical pundit similar to Christopher Hitchens. A surprise guest arriving in the middle of dinner will finally boil the diversity pot.
Tension can hardly describe some of the disagreements that they can’t help but agree to make. They speak their minds concerning issues which America involves itself, including war, capitalism and morality. In its ceaseless question raising, the script attempts to redefine terrorism, evil and the enemy.
“Many times those who obtain power use the concept of evil as a way of tricking people to subscribe to certain beliefs,” said Ian Stoutenburgh, who plays Terrence. Both he and Lindsey Cacamo, who plays Lydia, said that rulers all too often use evil as a propaganda instrument.
After rehearsal, Stoutenburgh, Cacamo and Dustin Lefors discussed the deeply layered themes of the script’s dialogue. Lefors will play the soft-spoken Jeff.
“All of these characters twist and contort what the others are saying and try to bring the focus back to their own agenda,” Lefors said.
“My character is a critical theorist,” said Stoutenburgh. “He watches and listens,” he said. “With these observations, he voices them the best way he knows how.”
“The play is written and performed as a dramatic comedy with a classic humor anyone can relate to,” said Cacamo. “Our version focuses on how empires fall,” she said. “We are an empire in the last stages of capitalism,” she said. “Who knows,” added Stoutenburgh. “Communism is usually the next stage.”
“Omnium Gatherum” deals with economic commentary, reflecting on fascism, Marxism and Communism. However, it provides no solid solution to capitalism.
“It’s a problem,” Stoutenburgh said. “And socialism looks great on paper, but it didn’t work in real life.”
Even so, Cacamo provided statistics of the present world economy. “How scary is this …,” said Cacamo. “If a random selection of 100 of the world’s people were to be invited to a dinner, six would be Westerners, who hold over half the world’s income.”
Of the play’s eight characters, six are Westerners.
While the play deals with America as a falling empire, it also deals with cross-cultural conflicts. “I play the part of Lydia, a somewhat pretentious feminist vegan,” said Cacamo. “On top of that, she’s three months pregnant,” she said.
“She’s everything I’m not, so that adds to the challenge. Yet, in my character study I realized we had similarities. In so many words, I wouldn’t take her on in a bar fight,” she said.
On stage, Cacamo hardly seems challenged. Her natural dialogue produces a flow, obtaining an audience’s necessary willing suspension of disbelief.
Although the play doesn’t seem to present a plot, it presents heavy interaction between the characters. These interactions are conversations and reflections on rather historical plots that have taken place dating back to World War II and the Holocaust. Needless to say, the discussions hardly include content without plot.
“The art of this piece lies mainly in its contradictions of economy, social issues and the moral integrity of America as compared to the rest of the world,” said Cacamo.
The play’s two writers are Theresa Rebeck, former writer and producer for “LA Law,” “NYPD Blue” and “Law and Order,” and Pulitzer Prize-nominated Alexandra Gersten-Vallejos.
“It was brilliantly written,” said assistant director Kathleen Maher.
“Omnium Gatherum” will play Oct. 27-29 at 7:30 p.m. in the McComas Hall Theatre.
Immediately after the play, a symposium will take place to conduct discussions on the heavy issues faced in the play. The cast will dress out of their costume, and along with SA President Jon David Cole, the cast will attempt to answer the audience’s questions.
Cacamo explains the reasoning behind the symposium.
“The world of this production is guaranteed to extend beyond the boundaries of McComas Hall,” she said. “The play is life or death, blood or wine, truth or denial, mercy or pride … humans on the brink of an international revolution [post 9/11],” she said.
Referring to both on and off-stage characters, she added, “We are the instruments of change.”