Mara Nelson–Greenberg takes #metoo rage to absurdist extremes in Circle X Theatre Company’s Do You Feel Anger?, a West Coast Premiere that starts out a major laugh getter (and stays that way for most of its ninety-minute running time), but ends up a major bummer the moment Nelson–Greenberg’s anti-male message gets sledgehammered in in the play’s suddenly surreal final scene.

Paula Rebelo stars as “empathy coach” Sofia, who’s been hired by Jon (Casey Smith) to conduct a series of consciousness-raising meetings at Cash Flow Accounts, a debt collection agency where, according to female employee (and would-be mermaid) Eva (Tasha Ames), “everyone is so outgoing and mean and it’s just a really fantastic, really scary work environment.” Oh, and by the way, someone in the building keeps mugging Eve on a daily basis.

Considering the spate of lawsuits that have been filed against the agency, there appears to be ample reason for Sofia’s workshops, particularly with men like Howie (Rich Liccardo) using language like “I wasn’t asking for your whole life’s story, bitch” when calling about an unpaid debt.

Fortunately, Sofia’s got a plan to get across the meaning of “empathy,” one that involves assorted exercises designed to teach, among other things, “compassionate listening.”

Not that anybody in the office could tell you what empathy means. Howie believes it’s “when you’re angry at someone” and Jordan (Napoleon Tavale) is under the impression that “it’s a bird,” though this is hardly the sole instance of the staff’s lexical deficiencies. (At first Jon has no idea what it means when a woman has her period, but after some asking around, he gleefully informs his coworkers that it means “extra pee.”)

And this just one in a nonstop series of one-liners that give Do You Feel Anger? a live audience laugh track any multicamera sitcom would envy.

Take for instance the manic monolog Eva delivers early on, one that has her informing Sofia “I just broke up with my boyfriend—I was with him for ten years, even though I hated him the whole time. His name was—Marcus? Marco? I could never pay attention when he was talking, because he was so boring, so—hold on—I wrote it down. Okay… his name was… (Checking a piece of paper) Jeffrey. (Pause) Weird. Where did I get Marcus from?”

No wonder I wasn’t the only one laughing my head off.

Indeed, there’s so much hilarity throughout most of Do You Feel Anger? that you may not notice the message behind all this madness, that if you’re a woman, “everyone’s going to hit on you, and it won’t be clear if they’re actually attracted to you or just asserting their power over you, but either way you won’t get anything done unless you shut it down. And even if you do shut it down, eventually they’ll find a way around it and then they’ll wear you down until you disappear” like the conspicuously absent Janie, who’s apparently “single and getting mugged and in the bathroom for an eternity.”

Oh, and if by chance, you’ve missed any of this misandrism (look that up in your Merriam-Webster), Nelson-Greenberg makes it crystal clear in a bizarre final scene that serves primarily to hit audiences over the head with a baseball bat with the notion that all men are irredeemable pieces of shit.

On the plus side, Liccardo, Rebelo, Smith, Tavale, this weekend’s “special guest star” William Salyers, and a particularly on-fire Ames add up to an absolutely phenomenal comedic ensemble, with Charlotte Gulezian and Rose Portillo delivering an effective pair of dramatic cameos under Helena Keys’ fast-paced direction.

If nothing else, Do You Feel Anger? looks absolutely fabulous on François-Pierre Couture’s colorful, strikingly angular set, one which. along with costume designer Dianne K. Graebner’s office (and mermaid) wear, looks even more striking under his and Stephen Azua’s vibrant, dramatic lighting, with sound designer Jesse Mandapat, prop master Kat Haan, and specialty prop designer Richard Maher completing an all-around stunning production design.

Do You Feel Anger? is produced by Haan, Jen Kays, and Tim Wright. Lee Hannah Conrads is assistant director. Roella Dellosa is production stage manager and Yaesol Jeong is assistant stage manager. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

I loved the first eighty minutes of Do You Feel Anger? so much that I fully expected to give it a rave, but such turned out not to be the case.

Laugh getter or not, Nelson–Greenberg’s black-and-white look at male-female relationships had me leaving the theater with a sour taste in my mouth.

Circle X Theatre Co. @ Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave, Atwater Village.
www.circlextheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
January 28, 2023
Photos: Jeff Lorch, Jenny Graham

Tags: Atwater Village Theatre, Circle X Theatre Company, Los Angeles Theater Review, Mara Nelson–Greenberg