IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT OF AN ACTUAL EMERGENCY - Hudson Mainstage Theatre

Review by Chris Cassone  cc@chriscassone.com

A revolutionary new kind of drama. A one-man show with seven characters wrapped inside of a theater with no walls, just screens. And it's based on a true story.

John Mullican's little gem has all that and much more to offer. Based on his real-life experience of surviving a jetliner crash into the Boston Harbor, "ITUEOAAE" goes to great lengths to immerse us all into his reliving the crash and the effects it had on him. So, yes, it is autobiographical. Yes, he deals with his survivor's guilt and wraps that into his struggle to be a gay man. And, yes, we are witness to his transformational growth by the end of the performance.

Arturo Murphy (just wait until you meet his parents) brings us with him on his flight to Boston. From the entry to the studio ("Boarding will begin shortly,") to the pre-flight safety speech, to the single airline coach seat in the center of the stage, we are on the plane with him. He even raises our comfort level with common irksome airline behavior. Who hasn't sized up the incoming passengers on a Southwest flight: the ones coming down the aisle who are looking for the best seat? He stretches himself across the open seat next to him as a mother and baby followed by two "bro-dudes" approach. We are all guilty.

Once we are identifying with him on the basic gut level, Mullican brings us deeper into his psyche as he reunites with his deceased parents for, literally, a dance of family dysfunction. Please don't ask how he meets them. That would involve spoilers. Just know that the ever-present character of God (as a club DJ) is involved.

While Mullican, the author/lead actor, is working out his issues with his parents as characters, he seems to be bearing all in front of the audience for our sake - to show us that we don't need to survive a plane crash to "finally dance," or as Joseph Campbell reminded us, "Follow your bliss." A lot of unfinished business can be dealt with once you end up in Limbo, as we Catholic students used to call Purgatory. Just ask Beetlejuice.

It was the character of Bill that really stopped the show. Bill is another real-life spirit that visits Arturo and teaches him the same lesson. Bill's profound message was, "Just because I died of AIDS, you don't have to suffer the same the rest of your life." Mullican draws an amazing connection between the two "viruses" that almost killed him: HIV and COVID.  But it was Bill who acted as an alter-ego and begged him to use the rest of his life to the fullest, not unlike Scrooge's spirits, Obi-Won Kenobi or even Hamlet's Ghost, all of whom returned to advise the living. Jason-Leon Baptista as Bill gave a stunning performance as he pleaded with his old friend. In a way, he was pleading with all of us to live our lives to the fullest and not sweat the small stuff.

Glen Ratcliffe and Dolores Aguanno, as Liam and Lucinda, his "Parents" were still kibbitzing in the afterlife but as all parents, wanted a "do over" with their child. Again, they were working on several levels: one, on stage with the character, Arturo and two, with John Mullican himself. It surely must be psychically cleansing to deal with your parents after they are gone. It has to be fulfilling. Again, their lesson was "do your art and don't waste time."

Amoni West as "the DJ" was clearly "God" for all of us. She not only programmed the music for our flight, she also answered very unanswerable questions posed to God by the characters. And best of all, at the dénouement she pulled out an acoustic guitar and sang a touching song about being the person you want to be and dream to be. Feeling the theme yet?

Because "ITUEOAAE" is basically a one-man play, the audio-visual support was integral. The team of Fritz Davis, Chris Moscatiello and Steven Pope, all worked their magic to put us onto a modern-day jetliner. The audience is the fourth wall of the theater but the other three had video screens for this piece and, with the sound and lights, they produced a feeling of being on a plane and all it entails. When the big plane "shudders" towards the beginning, we felt it, and its foreshadowing was all too real. Why, even the flight attendants (Stacy Aung and Katheryn Peña) made us want to ask for more nuts as they passed by.

Rickie Peete, the director, deserves kudos for bringing this new kind of theater to light. He cast the play and, in turn, got the amazing performances out of each of them, staying true to John Mullican's story. The direction of Arturo alone should not go unnoticed because Mullican needed a mirror to reflect back how his confessional role was appearing.

The "talk back" session after the Saturday matinee was very illuminating as we, as an audience, got to ask questions directly to the cast. It was here that several gay members of the audience were in tears as they tried to offer their gratitude for their story being told, the AIDS epidemic of the 70-80's. It has almost been relegated to the bins of history yet for so many, its repercussions still reverberate.