Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Don’t let appearances fool you, Eric John Meyer’s THE ANTELOPE PARTY is a timely, menacing allegory

• By drediman
• November 17, 2021
• No Comments

Currently at The Wild Project in the East Village, you’ll be able to catch Dutch Kills Theater Company’s production The Antelope Party by Eric John Meyer. The dark comedy arrives to New York by way of Chicago, where it enjoyed a successful premiere run. Set in Western Pennsylvania, the play tells the story of a group of millennials who find friendship and community in their mutual ascription to the philosophy, characters, and aesthetic of the long-running animated kids series My Little Pony. But when the outside world starts chipping away at these Bronies and Pegasisters’ self-made utopia, things take a turn for the worse, to say the least (no spoilers here).

Indeed, don’t let appearances fool you – what starts off as a charming and offbeat satire evolves into a dystopian psychological thriller. It’s a testament to Mr. Meyer’s careful plotting and character building that this transition makes itself known gradually, stealthily masking the work’s escalating menace. Although the playwright uses vaguely suggestive symbolism to make his point (e.g., the fictitious “Antelopes”, a sort of vigilante community watchmen group, are a stand-in for far right extremists), The Antelope Party nonetheless works as an effective and timely allegory that points to how easily idealism can by corrupted and how irrational emotional needs can distort our moral compass.

Although the Dutch Kills production has been mounted on a limited budget, director Jess Chayes skillfully conjures a world that’s convincing as he guides the play from sunny utopia to increasingly dark territory. Scenic designer Yu-Husuan Chen has concocted a slyly flexible set that uncannily captures the atmosphere of suburban/rural Western Pennsylvania living. Although the nuanced performances are excellent across the board, Lindsley Howard and Will Dagger are stand-outs as they portray characters at the very intersection of polarizing forces.

RECOMMENDED

THE ANTELOPE PARTY
Off-Broadway, Play
Dutch Kills Theater Company at The Wild Project
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through December 4