The Samaritan Syndrome at Gorilla Tango Theatre

By: Jeremy Menekseoglu

Director: Paul Cosca

Cast

Anthony Stamilio…….Mr. Suit

April Taylor……….Night Nurse

Brooke Elbrecht…………Saint

Claire Kander………………Ada

Nathan Randall……..Charming

Sarah Grant……………..Grace

Whitney LaMora………Pepper

Synopsis

Deep inside the women’s ward of an insane asylum, the doors open to a select group of clientele. Men who wish to save these girls are free to act upon their most secret desires. But one girl is different. And one man will risk his sanity and even his life to find the girl that haunts his dreams.

Reviewed by Brian Meadowcroft

As you first enter the theatre you see the women of the insane asylum sitting in their rooms doing various things such slicing up faces in a magazine.  The stage is small but intimate and the brick walls help create an eerie tone.  The set is dimly lit and minimal but does a perfect job of conveying the mood of the play.  This asylum is a place where you learn that not all people can be saved and that it is sometimes hard not to take advantage of the weak.

The lead character Mr. Suit has come to the asylum in a desperate search for a particular woman.  He is met by the drunken night nurse who informs him in order to gain access to the girl’s room he must pay first.   What Mr. Suit and the other Johns do in the rooms are up to them.  The tales of rape, abuse and molestation are uncovered as the rooms of the asylum are explored.  This 45-minute grim story will keep you uneasy and interested as you find out why Mr. Suit is looking for the woman.

The actors were convincing and there were a couple particularly strong performances by Nathan Randall as “Charming” and Claire Kander as “Ada”.  If you enjoy dark tales, such as me, this play is definitely worth seeing.  There is a 15-minute talkback with the entire cast and crew after the show.  I would recommend you take this opportunity to ask about how the characters and situations pertain to real life.  The story behind the story is just as intriguing.

Reviewed by Kristin Carroll

The Samaritan Syndrome, although not strictly billable as horror from a traditional sense, is still a creepy and suspenseful theatrical production. It slowly unravels a gritty mystery, and much like the main character, makes viewers wish they weren’t so curious to open every available door to solve the puzzle. Content clings to the mind long after the show, its dark subject matter settling in uncomfortably.

 

The intimate set is simple, with a cot, white-sheeted backdrop, and small table with two chairs. The audience is introduced to a desperate young man who anonymously introduces himself as “Mr. Suit,” to the night nurse at a mental hospital. Mr. Suit explains he is frantically searching for a young girl around 25 with dark hair, although he does not know her name. Only that he must “find her and save her.” How he knows this girl, is the suspenseful question the audience tries to answer. The indifferent nurse tells the man he can search any patient room in the hospital, with but an easy swipe of his credit card. It then becomes clear the location is a perverted blending of psych ward and bordello.

 

And here begins the horrific journey of Mr. Suit. Each patient door he opens, exposes him to another emotionally disturbed female. Having been physically, sexually and/or mentally abused, these women are now locked away, tortured by demons within their own minds. They beg Mr. Suit to save them in various ways, and each time he guiltily walks away, jaded a little more upon each room he exits.  After all, he is on a mission to find the one mystery girl he feels he can truly save.

 

After the last act, audience members are invited to a brief Q&A session with the cast and crew. It is then director Paul Cosca confirms the story is based on reality, as a somewhat autobiographical account of author Jeremy Menekseoglu. This is perhaps the most disturbing piece of information of all. With its gripping and mysterious story line, theater goers will find the tale unsettling in a thought provoking way. It is not meant to dictate opinions or feelings, but rather, encourage audience members to sift through their own emotions and pontificate on what they have just witnessed.

• Posted by bmeadowcroft
• Posted in Uncategorized