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The Rice Thresher
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Kacie Hengel for the thresher Is science responsible to humanity? If we deem specific knowledge "harmful," how can we hope to prevent its discovery? If the knowledge does exist, how do we prevent its misuse? These may sound like questions for a philosophy of science paper, but all are debated by three of physics' most brilliant personalities in Will Rice College's production of The Physicists, a play set in a Swiss mental hospital. Before the physicists finish debating, the whole world may be destroyed. Johann Wilhelm Mobius seeks refuge in an insane asylum to protect himself and the "formula" he found that may change the world as we know it. His fellow patients/physicists are none other than Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. Life is tranquil and idyllic for the three physicists except for their habit of killing their nurses. Jones College freshman Seth Rosenblatt portrays a quirky, yet compassionately homicidal Mobius. Baker College junior Laurie Scott plays Einstein, amongst other characters, and is convincingly nuts. Scott also does a brilliant job playing dead in the opening scene. Will Rice senior Michael Yantosca shows us a hilarious side of Newton, never before seen or imagined. All three turn in excellent performances as stereotypically idiosyncratic, absent-minded geniuses. As Fraulein Doktor von Zahn, Wiess College senior Lizzie Taishoff does an impressive job of proving that physicists aren't the only people susceptible to insanity. Her accent is quite good and adds credibility to her character. Baker senior Tony Pule is appropriately coarse and jaded as Police Inspector Voss, and provides a much-needed reality check in the world of upper-class dementia. Wiess senior Layla Fry is a great nurse, though there is some initial confusion because she plays two different roles as nurses. As supporting cast members, Will Rice freshman Tam Dang, Will Rice sophomore Kevin Brown and Wiess senior Christie Gross all play multiple roles and adeptly pull off many costume changes while acting convincingly in a variety of roles. The set is simple, yet totally appropriate for what the common room of a mental hospital should look like. The lighting adds drama and intensity to the play's finale, making what would otherwise be a confusing break in the dialogue a powerful conclusion to the play. Directors Michael O'Connor, a Will Rice senior, and Daniel Attaway, a Sid Richardson College senior, are good at what they do and have staged a play with cohesiveness, flow and style. The Physicists is an intelligent comedy that will leave you laughing and thinking deep thoughts.
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