The Muskegon Community College Overbrook Players will present their first show of the season, The Adding Machine, Elmer Rice’s groundbreaking 1923 expressionistic satire of the dehumanizing effect of industrial capitalism, on Wednesday through Sunday, October 17 – 21 in the Overbrook Theater.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday, with Sunday’s matinee beginning at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5 for MCC students and staff and $10 for the general public. Call the box office at 231-777-0324 for more information.
The Adding Machine, a comic, expressionistic masterpiece, follows the exploits of Mr. Zero, a hard-working, pseudo-Everyman as he toils through his rather inconsequential existence, a nameless human cog in a vast business engine. After years of determined dedication to his job, he finds himself out on his ear–replaced by a machine. Mr. Zero does not take this news lightly and his choices will soon send him on a path through various stages of the afterlife discovering the true nature of his menial existence
The play is directed by Sheila Kulp Wahamaki. Scenery, lighting, and sound are designed by Tom Harryman, assisted by Theater Technician Brian Goodman, Costumes are designed by Jeanette Wahr, and student stage managed by Michael Munson.
The MCC student cast includes Cory Goodrich, Colleen Murphy, Erin Mickelson, Anthony Corder, John Riegler, Aaron Ponce, Tre Perry, Davante Buie, Dustin Day, Lindsay Lee, Brandi Tucker, Hannah Myers, Victoria Grant, Crystal Coleman, Debra Robb, Erik C. Nelsen, Tamar Erickson, Austin Howard, and Colton Hall. Rounding out the cast is current MCC Staff/Adjunct member and Theater Department alumnus, Don Bogema.
MCC joins with Ah Fest 2012 in examination of the theme “The Future.” The foreshadowing nature of Elmer Rice’s 1923 play is, in many respects, rather eerie. Whether it’s mechanization in the workplace or outsourcing, the capitalist system will always support advancements in pursuit of more profits–forever making the displaced workforce a flashpoint topic. The Adding Machine directly addresses the question of advancing technology at what cost to personal humanity. While we as a society are becoming more "connected" to each other at a staggering rate, it begs the question what is the quality of this interfacing? Is our connectivity detached and ultimately de-humanizing?