young woman finds her raison d’etre in LCP’s ‘mars lost’
Angela (Stacy Kolafa) talks about her plans to join a group of people that are planning to colonize Mars while Dr. Callahan (William Molitor) takes notes in a scene from Lake Country Playhouse’s “Mars Lost.”
By Marilyn Jozwik
Published Feb. 4, 2020
A few years ago, there was an airline commercial in which
people did something so humiliating they couldn’t wait to leave the situation
behind. The catchphrase was: “Wanna get away?”
The protagonist in “Mars Lost,” an original play by local playwright Justin Spanbauer being presented at Lake Country Playhouse, is Angela (Stacy Kolafa), a young woman whose whole life is so unbearable that she wants to get away. Forever. So, she signs up to be on the first spaceship leaving earth to colonize Mars. Forever.
Angela is married to Brian (Timothy Barnes), a mortician and workaholic who’s more than happy to pick up the slack for others on the job, which means more time away from home. Angela, an unemployed psychologist, seems unmotivated and is often chided by Brian for having unproductive days.
When she learns of this Mars project, she immerses herself in the training with her mentor, Dr. Callahan (William Molitor). Her husband is kept in the dark until she is accepted as one of the 100 to embark on the journey. We get clues as to why Angela is so willing to leave her whole life behind as she says, “I have a lot to lose here” and “I’m not focusing on what I leave behind” and “I’m hungry for something bigger … I need to start over.”
Brian (Timothy Barnes), an undertaker, takes a call from his work much to the dismay of his wife Angela (Stacy Kolafa) in a scene from Lake Country Playhouse’s “Mars Lost.”
We learn from a flashback that Angela wanted to be an astronaut when she was growing up. We meet other people in her life, like her friend, Meg (a likeable, effervescent and engaging Haley Ebinal), who’s basking in her recent motherhood, flaunting her status to the motherless Angela who recalls when the two of them went to Paris full of dreams and ambitions. “You get new dreams,” says Meg. “Smaller dreams.” But Angela insists, “You could have been successful too,” to which Meg counters: “I am successful.”
We briefly meet Angela’s mother, Barbara (Candy Lee Parr), who oddly seems OK when she learns of Angela’s plans. “I get excited about your future,” Barbara says, yet admits, “I honestly can’t say I want you to go … I’m sad and scared about losing you.” I tried to put myself in Barbara’s shoes if my daughter said she was leaving forever. I’m not sure I could be so upbeat, especially considering Barbara has already suffered another terrible loss. Parr does well with her scene, keeping busy during her conversation, perhaps trying to hold herself together for her daughter’s sake.
So, what is Angela running away from? What has happened that
has made her life on earth so intolerable? She seems to be in an unhappy
marriage, but we learn the reason for Brian’s distance later on in the story.
Angela simply can’t pull herself out of her earthly malaise, questioning
whether “to hold on or let go.”
My favorite scenes were the bar scenes with Molitor (who
also played Dr. Callahan) playing the bartender, Corey. During Angela’s
training, she visits the bar regularly but finally spills the beans to Corey,
telling him her story and sharing her feelings. A little wine helps loosen
Angie’s lips. Molitor keeps the scenes light and chatty, as his unintimidating
character helps Angela open up.
Angela (Stacy Kolafa) talks with her mentor on the Mars project, Dr. Callahan (William Molitor), in a scene from Lake Country Playhouse’s “Mars Lost.”
Kolafa as Angela keeps her character on the edge, sensitive
to her husband’s and friend’s allusions, easily upset. She says she is a good
candidate for the trip to Mars because one of her best traits is that she’s
“maternal.”
Barnes, as Angela’s husband, has perhaps the hardest role.
He, too, has his issues, making it hard for him to see his wife’s desperate
state. Yet, it is apparent this pairing is in peril, especially when Brian has
a meltdown in perhaps the show’s most moving scene.
Ellyan Goeller as the young girl keeps the right tone in her
scenes, while Mike Crowley as Rob, who is also training for the Mars journey,
adds another layer to the story, explaining his rationale that somewhat mirrors
Angela’s. Rob insists at the start of his talk with Angela that he has no story
but “I’m here to make one” and “I decided I wanted something more.” He clearly
wants to be remembered, saying, “A legacy lasts forever.”
Spanbauer has added a bit of humor here and there, as when
Brian tells Angela she’s “spacey,” a reference lost on him, but caught by the
audience. The show is directed by Katie Lynne Krueger.
If you go
Who: Lake Country Playhouse
What: “Mars Lost”
When: Through Feb. 16
Where: 221 E. Capitol Drive, Hartland
Tickets/Info: www.lakecountryplayhousewi.org