OTE Backstage Review › Jessica Lynn Johnson

OBLIVIOUS TO EVERYONE

The New York International Fringe Festival at Manhattan Children’s Theatre

Carrie flips through personalities the way she flips TV channels. The shallow blonde, expertly played by Jessica Lynn Johnson, is a “spoiled princess” whose current obsession is grinding her personality into that of pop-culture icon Paris Hilton. Her family and friends have wrangled her into therapy because of her erratic behavior. By her own admission, the closest Carrie has ever gotten to the real world is “MTV’s version of it,” and she has no shame in admitting that on Sept. 11 she got a facial and ordered pay-per-view all day so she could avoid that downer.

As Carrie begins to unfurl her vapid existence to her new shrink, the power of her TV compulsion physically manifests itself. First she jolts into a Midwestern man on The Jerry Springer Show, then a gum-smacking porn star on The Howard Stern Show. As Johnson smoothly transitions from one character to the next (10 in all, including a boozy Elimidate contestant, a child on Nanny 911, and a spot-on Dr. Phil), her remarkable ability shines. But where does Carrie fit into this talent show?

Instead of allowing the audience to empathize with her, the TV personalities that emerge in this wonderful schizophrenic episode shine with a gusto that overshadows their host. Director Chris Sorensen and Johnson (who also wrote the script) have negated Carrie’s personality to create a shell in which the others can flourish, but it comes across as the major flaw in this excellent one-woman show about the power of the media. It’s a shame that Carrie lacks the whirlwind vivacity her stereotype should have, because when she eventually achieves insight into her personality and admits, “I am who the media made me,” we in the audience should believe she’s ultimately more remarkable than what she’s watched on the boob tube.

Presented by Love Creek Productions as part of the New York International Fringe Festival
at Manhattan Children’s Theatre, 52 White St., NYC.
Aug. 12–19. Remaining performances: Wed., Aug. 16, 8:30 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 19, 7 p.m.
(212) 279-4488 or www.fringenyc.org.