Theater[24], a quarterly production from University Theater, is a showcase of new plays that have been written and staged in the preceding 24 hours. The quick pace of the production process enables every participant to experience the thrill of college theater in one intense night and is conveyed to the audience through hastily constructed sets and quickly memorized lines. Each quarter, Theater[24] provides a theme that can serve as inspiration for the writers. The theme for the Fall 2024 production was movie tropes. This quarter, we were treated to six plays, each around 15 to 20 minutes long. Although the writers did not have to use the theme provided, movie tropes made an appearance in all six productions.
Killer? I Hardly Know Her! transformed the typical “masked-killer movie” into a 2005 romcom with a twist ending. A man in dramatic Freddy Krueger–esque make-up flirts with a woman named Candie. An aggressive love triangle ensues between the killer, his barista coworker Brandi, and Candie while jazz music plays. The serial killer is transformed by love, but Candie turns out to be hiding some secrets below the surface (most notably, cannibalism). Candie murders Brandi, transforming the barista into lollipops the two now-killers share. The whole thing ends with a lovely song and dance to “Lollipop” by The Chordettes.
Sweet Goodbyes was an A24-style psychological thriller. Carnal and emotional, with low lighting, a couple preparing to separate for a vacation goes on a transformative journey. The boyfriend character goes to buy a book for his girlfriend and is tragically duped into purchasing illegal candy from a candy dealer. When he tries to return it, the candy dealer threatens him. Throughout the play, he is forced to feign normalcy around his clingy girlfriend as the candy dealer casually chats with her. Eventually, the tension comes to a head when the couple knocks out the drug dealer, and, fearing for their lives in the face of TSA, the two eat all the candy. The events happen quickly, barely leaving the viewer time to process what they are seeing, but a certain satisfaction is derived from the violent revenge the couple enacts against the dealer and the aggressive mukbang that follows.
KAEn is a traditional college comedy made realistic, meaning that the characters suffer the consequences of their unwise decisions. Two girls meet at a college RSO fair and are coerced into talking with the finance RSO table. Later, one of the girls goes on a terrible date with a finance guy, while the other thrives as a fan fiction writer, an occupation she was previously ashamed of. Additionally, the audience is treated to a variety of humorous tangents over the course of the play, including a disastrous Zoom interview and mockumentary-style spotlight interviews. The tragic conclusion comes when despite pledging the finance frat, only one of the students gets a summer internship.
Joey and Johnny Go to White Castle is an extended advertisement taking the form of two 11-year-old boys realizing their queerness over a shared love of exclusive deals. It is the typical 1990s/2000s “harebrained scheme” comedy, where two boys attempt blackmail for the first time. Joey and Johnny want to go to White Castle for Valentine’s Day to secure the exclusive White Castle Valentine’s Day special, but they have no one to go with (a romantic partner is required to purchase the special). They decide to blackmail a local babysitter into going with them, and when she storms off in the middle of their date, the boys realize that they can go with each other. At first, Joey and Johnny’s strange decisions, awkward speaking pace, and obsession with White Castle lead the audience to believe the characters are stoners, but it turns out they are just 11-year-olds.
If the Shoe Fits is a gritty fairytale murder mystery. Imagine Prince Charming was a rich frat bro with a foot fetish who was also a serial killer. There is a dingy dive bar, a smart but weary detective, and a twist ending. Moral of the story—the person you’re chasing could be next to you all along, but maybe you shouldn’t be chasing them.
The Man Who Shot Jock Statueofliberty was a play that embodied every cop-centered action movie, while simultaneously centering the thesis “nice guys finish last.” “Good Cop” Cooper is a stickler for the rules to the point of alienating everyone in his life; even his wife is on the brink of leaving him—regretting their marriage from the moment he gave her a ticket for speeding on their honeymoon. But when a disgraced bad cop is fired, it is up to Cooper to save the day. Can he do it? Turns out he can, but at the expense of his good cop nature. On the bright side, what he loses in morals, he gains in love from his wife.
Overall, I deeply enjoyed myself at this quarter’s performance. Despite its brief production process, this quarter’s programming was able to send me on a wild rollercoaster of emotions, while simultaneously summarizing every movie I’ll watch for the next two years. The energy and buy-in of everyone involved was palpable, creating an incredibly entertaining performance. Theater[24] was hysterical, innovative, and full of life. Be sure to catch next quarter’s shows!
