HENCEFORWARD

Rarely does a stage play combine science fiction, social dystopia, and laugh-out-loud comedy so seamlessly (or ever, really). The versatile Jared Harris (who has played Henry VIII and John Lennon in his career) plays Jerome, a reclusive electronic music composer who lives in a dicey section of town in a future "sometime quite soon" and has inherited, Nan, an android, from a neighbor. Anne Heche, sounding so perfectly put upon as Jerome's demanding former wife, and Moira Quirk, as the undemanding new mistress, have a wonderful time in dual roles taking turns providing the mechanical voice of the robot. Clever use of music "sampling" techniques turn Heche and Quirk's voices into futuristic songs. Marvelously inventive and entertaining. B.P. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2014]