There is never a point during What a World! What a World! where it feels content to do just one thing. Eric Marlin’s play, directed by Ilana Khanin at The Tank, mixes classic Hollywood, rehearsal room drama, experimental movement, drag, and social commentary into a production that is constantly changing direction. The result is an ambitious show that kept us interested throughout, even if it was occasionally a little confusing.
The story follows two performers rehearsing a piece inspired by classic Hollywood films, using that familiar setting to explore gender roles, identity, performance, and the expectations that have been passed down through generations. It asks whether we should keep repeating the stories we’ve inherited or create new ones for ourselves. It’s an interesting idea and one that feels especially relevant today.
One of the things we enjoyed most was the production’s playful approach to theatre itself. The stage starts almost completely empty, but little by little the performers build the world around them, carrying on lights, microphones, props and pieces of set themselves. We really liked this handmade approach. Music played through an old stereo, lighting operated by the actors, and the constant use of a single backstage door all became part of the storytelling. Ilana Khanin’s scenic concept embraces this stripped back style, allowing the world of the play to grow naturally in front of the audience.
There are some genuinely excellent moments along the way. The opening movement sequence, where the performers repeat lines and physical actions with almost machine-like precision, is beautifully done. The timing, choreography and repetition create the feeling of an old film skipping or freezing, and it immediately gives the production its own identity. Throughout much of the first half, Queen-Tiye Akamefula and Annie Hoeg are completely in sync, delivering expressive performances with excellent physicality and a real connection to one another.
As the evening goes on, though, the production starts throwing more and more ideas into the mix. Meta theatre, drag, old Hollywood, audience participation, symbolism, movement, technology and social commentary all sit alongside each other. None of these ideas are bad on their own. In fact, many of them are really interesting. The challenge is that there are so many of them that the central story sometimes gets lost. We often found ourselves enjoying individual scenes while also wondering exactly how everything fit together.
A few moments also felt like they could use a little more polishing. Some of the theatrical ideas that work brilliantly at the beginning lose a little of their precision later on. Since the performers show such strong timing elsewhere, these moments stood out more than they otherwise might have. The same is true of some of the more abstract symbolism, including a small remote-controlled toy dinosaur that unexpectedly drives across the stage. It certainly got us talking afterwards, even if we were never completely sure what it was meant to represent.
What never wavers is the commitment of the cast. Akamefula and Hoeg carry almost the entire show between them and do so with confidence, energy and impressive focus. Their chemistry is one of the production’s biggest strengths, especially during the more physical sequences where they move together with remarkable precision.
What a World! What a World! is clearly a show that wants to experiment and push boundaries, and we really admired that ambition. Not every idea comes together as neatly as it could, but we’d much rather watch a production willing to take risks than one that plays everything safe. There is a lot of creativity on display here, and with a little more refinement and a little more confidence in simplifying some of its ideas, we think this could become something really special.
What a World! What a World! runs at The Tank through August 2. For more information and tickets, visit www.thetanknyc.com
We're giving this 3/5 D’s (DDD)
Cast & Creative
Photos by Maria Baranova
