The World Premiere of Dorothy Fortenberry's The Good Egg runs now through November 7, 2010 at the LABA Theatre at the 14th Street Y. Directed by Kel Haney and produced by The Red Fern Theatre Company, The Good Egg is a story about the limits of unconditional love. I know that statement seems a bit weird. How can love have limits if it's unconditional?
Love definitely has limits that you're pushed to on a daily basis if you're Meg (as played by Andrea Day). Since her parents have passed on, Meg has been the sole companion of her bipolar younger brother Matt (as played by Dan McCabe). Meg's life revolves around the needs of his brother and how he wakes up feeling that day.
When Meg finally takes steps to achieve something for herself, the dream of having her own family, Meg dabbles in Genetic Manipulation. She has her embryos screened for Bipolar Disorder. Meg claims that it's the "responsible" thing to do. However, if she refuses to give birth to a bipolar child, what does that really say about her feelings for her brother. The Good Egg ponders the ethical question - can someone take "being responsible" too far?
The Good Egg felt like it was attempting to be two plays in one and accomplishes neither. A play about a family's struggle with Bipolar Disorder is one thing. A play about Genetic Testing and Manipulation is another equally interesting play. However, if you attempt to take on both, something is going to suffer. I felt like Fortenberry was truly attempting a commentary on Genetics with The Good Egg, but the Bipolar Disorder was too much of a White Elephant to overcome. I came out of the show just feeling ambivalent about both.
If I read The Good Egg first, I sadly would have not gone to see it. Nevertheless, the saving grace of this show was its strong production value. Kel Haney made great use of the space and created some evocative stage pictures. The production design was visually interesting and enhanced the plot. Performance-wise, Day and McCabe did a magnificent job with the piece. They created thoughtful three-dimensional characters, even when the script seemed to actively work against them.
The Red Fern Theatre Company created a strong production of a pretty average play. (I can only imagine their capabilities if given a script with some true meat on its bones.) Support the cast and crew as they're up for the New York Innovative Theatre Awards. Tickets are available at http://www.redferntheatre.org/p_good_egg.asp.
