Theater review: 'DaddyO Dies Well' leads viewers to investigate how they enjoy their own lives

“DaddyO Dies Well”
The Electric Lodge
Through May 22

“DaddyO Dies Well” begins innocently enough, with the prospect of tea party between a man, Gary (Casey Sullivan), and his aging hipster stepfather, DaddyO (Hugh Dane). However, what follows is the strangest excuse for a tea party since the Mad Hatter invited Alice over for tea.

“DaddyO Dies Well” is the fifth installment in a series of plays written by Murray Mednick, all of which chronicle the life of Gary, a down-on-his-luck failed actor who lives in Los Angeles.

Fittingly set in the “now,” the play presents two characters who are suffering, but for two entirely different reasons. DaddyO is physically suffering after being run down by a white pickup truck while crossing Ocean Avenue (which is later revealed to have been driven by Antonio de la Selva (Peggy A. Blow), the de facto angel of death). Gary, on the other hand, is emotionally suffering as he attempts to come to grips with his own failings and the violent death of his son that drove him and his ex-wife Gloria (Elizabeth Greer) apart. As a final living act, DaddyO convinces Gary to consume Ayahuasca, a potent vomit-inducing hallucinogenic used in Amazonian rituals, in hopes that the ensuing trip will leave Gary with some form of relief. Along for the ride is the somewhat-misanthropic Dr. Jones (Jack Kehler) who is always willing to lend a witty comment or two relating to his distaste for mankind.

Though the play is Gary’s trip, his character takes a backseat to the other characters that assume the role of Gary’s “chorus,” confronting him with his many problems, and giving him advice on how to solve them. The protagonist effectively becomes DaddyO, who steals the show as he imparts his sometimes-humorous wisdom and life experience upon both the audience and Gary with power and enthusiasm akin to that of an entire gospel choir.

For a play that takes place on a constant unchanging set with a limited cast (seven people), “DaddyO Dies Well” manages to use dialogue and music to transport the viewer to a multitude of places, whether it be the far reaches of the Andes where Gloria seeks out a shaman, or the shrouded mystery of the afterlife from which Gary’s mother, Mama Bean (Strawn Bovee), gives her son advice about happiness.

The play’s disjointed, fractured and seemingly random dialogue is indicative of Gary’s psychedelic trip. However, if the audience listens closely to DaddyO’s animated monologues, they find the core of the play.

Trying to distill such a varied play down to one meaning or message is both frustrating and pointless. Instead, it is more enlightening to examine the many themes that the dialogue touches upon.

DaddyO spends much of his time extolling the value of love and humanity while dismissing death as a natural continuation of life that must be accepted. In addition, he emphasizes that Gary must “find joy in the here and now.” Mama Bean speaks from beyond the grave to tell Gary that he must find happiness internally instead of externally because internal happiness can never be taken away by external events. Gloria helps Gary realize that he cannot continue to blame both her and himself for the death of his son; rather he must accept the past and move on with his life.

The play ends somewhat abruptly, with the stage going black after DaddyO uses his dying breath to lament that he had chosen dignity over love and humanity throughout his life.

Though Gary reconciles with his ex-wife, and DaddyO finally dies “well,” there is no clear resolution to the play’s inherent tension, no final explanation as to what was reality and what was hallucination, and no undoubtedly happy ending, but the play is stronger for it. “DaddyO Dies Well” is not the kind of work that leaves the audience feeling fulfilled. Instead, it is the kind of production the viewer wondering as to not only the nature of the play they just witnessed, but also the nature of their own life.