Could it be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, as prophesized by the last book of the Bible, Revelation?
Or was the mass nighttime disappearance of 144,000 people from around the world some sort of secret government plot? Or an alien kidnapping? Or did a computer nerd with far too much time and money at his disposal go mad?
Actually, "Everything Is Not Okay" is yet another unique and marvelously entertaining creation of 2007 Wilde Award nominee Mike McGettigan and his Fevered Egos partner Mike Eshaq that concludes its semi-late night run this weekend at Planet Ant Theatre in Hamtramck.
What's unusual about the 40-minute comedy isn't so much the very intriguing mystery they tell, but its experimental format: The episodic story unfolds one week at a time over its three-week run.
So theatergoers the first week watched as disparate strangers found themselves tossed together in an unfamiliar room dressed in military-like jumpsuits with no recollection of how they got there – or why. And after one of them puts together a makeshift radio that supplies a few clues regarding their situation, the lights go out, the man silently disappears behind a hidden door, and BLAM! Is he dead?
This past week, the prisoners are joined by two others who pop in as quietly as others left, and each serves to deepen the mystery even more. (Did you ever wonder if the execution of Saddam Hussein really happened?) And what does the small, familiar, green container clutched by one of the newcomers have to do with explaining or solving their dilemma – if anything?
In part three this week, everything will be revealed. (But don't worry: Video "recaps" will bring newcomers up-to-date before the start of the final episode.)
McGettigan and Eshaq have pulled out all the stops with this psychologically intense, yet very funny comedy. (Eshaq is especially good as a certain former Iraqi ruler in search of his promised virgins.) And last week, nicely delineated characters were drawn by Charles Slapson III, Josh Compos, Dave Davies, Anne Faba and Marke Sobolewski.
'Everything Is Not Okay'
Planet Ant Theatre, 2357 Caniif Ave., Hamtramck. Thu.-Sat., through July 28 at 9:30 p.m. Tickets: $5. For information: 313-365-4948 or http://www.planetant.com.
