Theater review: Ponzi at McKinney Avenue Contemporary in Dallas

by Lauren Smart of I Live in Dallas

This uneven script gives the actors an immediate stumbling block, which is met with overacted, underwhelming performances on nearly all fronts.

Matt Mrozek

Cast of Kitchen Dog Theater's Ponzi

Kitchen Dog Theater’s 20th season has captured the attention of audiences with stories of Betrayal, Charm, power-hungry couples (Macbeth) and dramatic family situations (3 Foote).

In many ways, Ponzi (playing at McKinney Avenue Contemporary through June 25) should be the perfect capstone for such an interesting, diverse season. With a classic plotline of deception and greed told in a modern setting with a progressive use of multimedia, this play was directed by the talented Chris Carlos and has a KDT company member cast of Christina Vela, Max Hartman and Diane Casey-Box.

This world premiere had the elements to bring a successful season full circle. Instead, takes the audience for a ride.

It is the story of Catherine (Vela), an heiress who finds herself entangled in an affair with a self-made man Bryce (Hartman), a friendship with his wife Allison (Casey-Box) and the victim of a shady financier’s fraud.

Elaine Romero’s script is poetic and contains eloquence worthy of praise, but focuses almost entirely on the character of Catherine. Bryce, whose actions turn out to be the most surprising is given almost no development. And Allison is written as the play’s fop, but in this lopsided script she seems to be nothing more than a caricature of a hot, crass trophy wife.

This uneven script gives the actors an immediate stumbling block, which is met with overacted, underwhelming performances on nearly all fronts.

Matt Mrozek

Cast of Kitchen Dog Theater's Ponzi

Vela, recently seen in the same theater as a gripping Lady Macbeth, plays the manipulative, sensual character of Catherine fails to find the balance between melancholy and malice favoring the despondent – a choice that inhibited any growth throughout the 100 minute show. But the fact that Vela was able to find anything consistent in the self-contradictory character Romero has written is impressive in its own right.

Casey-Box gave the most interesting performance as she struggled to find the sincerity in her oafish character. Her energetic performance ranged from adorable to squirrel-like.

Hartman’s biggest challenge was that of remaining interested in Catherine’s lengthy monologues and finding a way to make his revelation concerning his actions believable. In the former he succeeded; the failure to do the latter appeared to be hampered by the script in which his character does nothing but spit out one-liners.

The design elements of the play are trendy, adding to the jumbled script in a very modern, hip way. Tarot cards that mirrored the plot were projected onto the backdrop, serving as sort of summaries of the scenes that were to follow.

Ponzi is the headliner in Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival that contains six staged readings along with Pup Fest, staged readings by high school playwrights. These readings take place throughout the month of June and all staged readings are free.