Cave Dwellers Review

Posted by Nick Martinez in Performing Arts

From left, Hamilton Turner (Father) demonstrates “safe” wrestling and friendship with Matthew McMillan (Gorky) in Cave Dwellers. Photo by Luke E. Montavon/The Jackalope

What can I say about The Cave Dwellers? Firstly, the story is nonsense. I hate to start the review off negative, but I just needed to get that out of the way. The central romance of the story between The Duke (Tyler Nunez, senior) and The Girl (Donna Bella Litton, freshmen) is erratic, falling in and out of love over the matter of days, with a narrative conclusion that leaves much to be desired. The absurdity of the courtship makes Gorky the Bear’s (Matt McMillan) appearance seem ordinary.

From left, while freshman Donna Bella Litton (girl) played an underwritten role, she managed to keep par with veteran actors like Tyler Nunez and Colin McIntire. Photo by Luke E. Montavon/The Jackalope

There’s my gripe. But, what ultimately saves the show is the committed performance of each and every cast member. Nunez’ punch-drunk Duke seems to recognize the heightened reality of the show, appropriately mumbling some of his line delivery, while still nailing the dramatic beats. Litton, who has the most underwritten role of the ensemble, acts as the audience surrogate, but gives hints of a sadder complexity beneath her doe-eyed innocence.

As freshmen, it’s exciting to think what Litton has in store for audiences with more experience and juicy material. Rounding out the quartet of leads are The King (Colin McIntire, junior) and The Queen (Avery Cartwright) who bring their college veteran experience to their loquaciously eccentric roles.

The scene stealers though, intentionally or not, were McMillan’s Gorky the Bear and Father (Hamilton Turner), his Russian bear trainer. The duo show tremendous chemistry, and elicit big laughs from primarily physical comedy.

It should be noted too, that this was PAD’s first show “in the round,” on the the stage of the proscenium theater. All the performers adjusted competently, with any unintelligible lines few and far between.

For those looking for a thought provoking show, you may have been disappointed. But, for any fan of top notch monologues and theatrical irreverence, The Cave Dwellers is for you.