‘Unwrap Your Candy’ fuses horror and desire

Sarah Rebell Columnist

Watching the Philaletheis play “Unwrap Your Candy” is like watching Twilight Zone episodes, according to the play’s director Peter Gaffney ’08. The play, which will be performed in the Shiva Theater on April 4 and 5, concerns individuals’ abilities to scare themselves and “the human mind and its ability to twist,” said cast-member Laura Dooling ’10.

The play, written by Doug Wright, combines humor, thrill, eroticism and creepiness. Wright also wrote last year’s drama department-produced show “Quills.” “Unwrap Your Candy” has an unusual structure, consisting of three half-hour-long plays with three mini-scenes between them.

“The plays are well-written enough that they make sense together,” said Gaffney. “There is a fluid movement between them.” Gaffney treated each play separately, working on the pacing of each show individually.

“The structure of the three plays requires the audience to be engaged more and to think about the subtle connections that integrate the plays,” said Nesa Levy ’08, who plays a doctor and a psychiatrist.

The five-person cast spent a great deal of time building their rapport as an ensemble.

The first of the three main plays is called “The Bone Violin.” Sarah Isaacson ’09, who plays a real estate agent among other roles, explained that the play is a tragic tale of a child protégé violinist who never actually appears in the piece. The play is told by figures in his life such as his parents, his music teacher and a scientist focused on the genetics of geniuses.

The second play, “Wildwood Park,” is a disturbing story about a real estate agent desperately trying to sell a piece of property tainted by murder.

The third play, “Baby Talk,” is about a pregnant woman, Alice, who believes that her child is speaking to her in utero. Zach Russo ’11, who plays the voice of the baby, suggested that this piece could be seen as “a metaphor for all the different stages of a child’s growth.”

In each of the three plays, the actors play different characters, but they are quick to mention that they have found many resemblances between the roles they play.

“Similarities have been popping up more and more,” said Dooling, who plays the mother in “Bone Violin” and Alice in “Baby Talk.” “The characters are completely bizarre,” she added. “You get to put yourself in pretty bizarre circumstances, which is the fun of acting,” she said.

The intricate set and staging, as well as some secrets that stem from the unusual form of the writing, will make the play more interactive with its audience.

Gaffney said he was intrigued by the play’s intelligence and hilarity. “It’s a very entertaining play, and it makes you think,” said Gaffney. “It’s very smart.”

The actors said they are having a great time working on this intense, quirky production. When else would Russo have the opportunity to play a character like the one he describes as “a sexy, slouchy musician portraying a baby that ends up being a girl”?

The experience of seeing “Unwrap Your Candy” should prove to be mysterious and audiences should expect the unexpected from this play. As Gaffney said, “We’ve got a couple of tricks up our sleeve.”