“No human being, when you understand his desires, is worthless, ” according to sci-fi maestro Orson Scott Card. WNEP makes a stab at understanding the worth of the recently departed in their remount of “Postmortem,” the improv-generated “living” obituary.
The format’s intriguing; each performance centers on a different obituary. The show’s construction staggers vignettes from the subject’s life with monologues about the period, complemented by an eclectic sound design. Humor isn’t the only goal here; drama has as much weight as the funny, which is refreshing.
Sunday’s crowd was small and the show was a tad subdued; the characters and stories could have been more fleshed out. But the ensemble’s efforts were still impressive. Matt Ulrich played a believable everyman as the evening’s subject (a veteran day trader); Regan Davis and Henri Dugas offered up some intriguing character work. It’ll be interesting to see where these lives go. (Lisa Buscani)
WNEP Theater at the Viaduct Theater, 3111 North Western, (773)296-6024. Through March 6.
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