A LOVE AFFAIR WITH ELECTRONS, Brigham Young University department of theatre and media arts, Margetts Theatre, Harris Fine Arts Center; written and directed by Eric Samuelson; continues through March 25, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; one matinee, March 18, at 2 p.m. All seats reserved. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for BYU faculty, staff and students. Box office: 378-4322.
PROVO -- "A Love Affair With Electrons," like the medium of television, is an entertaining mix of truth, history and fiction.It also takes an unusual storytelling approach, moving from the stage to the screen and back again through the camera, taking the audience along for a nice ride that's mostly just plain fun.
That's not to say there isn't some serious education involved. No one could attend this production without gaining a new understanding and appreciation for Philo T. Farnsworth's brilliance, dedication, heartbreak and tireless effort at inventing the electronic television.
It's nice to see Farnsworth defined as a Rigby, Idaho, boy, by the way, a fact sometimes misconstrued or not admitted by Utahns.
Eric Samuelson has done an admirable job with this original script. He weaves historical fact into the story without allowing it to become a class lecture.
The production is lively and fresh, and there's really no way to predict what will happen next.
The dialogue moves fairly briskly, and the images are interesting as the onstage action is picked up and put on the big screen as well as onto a series of smaller screens that make up most of the set structure.
It's a nice visual treatment that subtly illustrates how easily the camera can distort reality, even reality that's right before your eyes.
Casey Griffiths is a standout as the on-camera personality, Todd McKay. He's cheesy with a dimple in his cheek, bright-eyed and enthusiastically over the top, so much so that he's every annoying and phony talking head you've ever seen on TV.
Griffiths brings humor to much of the show. Even the sinking of the Titanic becomes a chuckler with Griffith's commentary.
Farnsworth, played by Ryan Rauzon, is another effective player, although he starts out a little stiff. He warms to the part as he moves from sort of a dweeb in high school science class to a BYU freshman to an inventor clearly married to a vision that will change the future.
His flesh-and-blood girlfriend/wife, Pam, played by Shelley Graham, is also well portrayed as she worries throughout the production about sticking to the actual story. Graham has a likable personality and generally adds to the warmth of the story until the last half. Only then does it begin to feel like what's she's saying has been said enough.
Other members of the cast take on a series of challenging multiple roles, which they all perform well as the story moves from high school to college to the courtroom and the laboratory.
"Love Affair" is, for the most part, a success.
It's inventive.
The storyline, surprisingly, is full of interesting conflict and drama -- even without the "additions" Todd McKay insists must be there to attract a television audience.
The commercials for "Obsessive Compulsive" cologne, political candidates, beer and "Skoinitin" antacid are shot in distinctively different styles and at different paces, and they add greatly.
The show is only about 20 minutes too long. The courtroom battle over patents and the repeated scenes with the female investor who wants a return on her money could perhaps be cut to a minimum without harm.
And the Margetts Theatre, located in the basement of the Fine Arts Center, is dreadfully warm and stuffy, which is a shame because it makes it hard to enjoy the second half without distraction.
This production deserves to come up into the light.