On Saturday, I went to see "Prototype 373-G" at the Source Theatre. This play, produced by the Flea Market Theater Co., is loads of fun. It has a cast of eight, and they all seem to have as good a time as the audience.
The story starts out conventionally enough. A youmg actress, Belly, is having trouble with her overbearing boyfriend, while her slightly crazy former boyfriend has reappeared in her life. And her agent, who claims to be dying, warns her that her career will go down the tubes unless she sells out to a repulsive corporation.
But the story quickly takes a turn to the bizarre side. The emperor of the turtle people on a distant planet has a scheme to invade the earth, and Belly is to be the vehicle for introducing the aliens to our world. A tiny turtle that her friend gives her turns out to be Prototype 373-G, designed to take over her mind and impregnate her with the seed of the evil emperor. The little creature begins to grow at an alarming rate, and Belly starts transforming her apartment into a leafy green turtle paradise.
Belly's dreams are troubled by aliens, turtles, and weird versions of her agent and boyfriends. These sequences are some of the most striking parts of the play, and are accomplished with minimal sets and wonderful costuming. I loved Belly's boxer shorts adorned with turtles.
There is a big blowup with the BF and the agent caught in flagrante, but the story reaches its crisis when the emperor arrives and somehow transmogrifies into the turtle, which has grown to gigantic proportions.
Luckily, Belly figures out how to destroy the evil invader at the last minute. Suffice it to say that she liquidates him. (Of course I must acknowledge the Wizard of Oz for that groaner.)
This show is all in good fun, and seems like a wonderful homage to the cheesy sci-fi films of the 1950's. There are still performances scheduled for Wednesday the 23rd at 5:30, Saturday the 26th at 1:00, and Sunday the 27th at 4:30.For more pictures, click here.
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