The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Jody Foster just finished a film entitled The Brave One, which doesn’t appear to have anything to do with anything, yet.

An Nguyen and Jennifer Finley in The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow.

An Nguyen worked with her on the film. She also just finished her first feature film as Cinderella called Year of the Fish that is expected to knock the socks off of Sundance next year, which may also appear to have nothing to do with anything. Except Nguyen, a New York based actress, stars as Jennifer Marcus in The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow produced by Next Stage and opened last weekend at the Phoenix Theatre. Nguyen wasn’t included in Director Bernie Cardell’s original plan.

If Nguyen stumbles over a line or two, look beyond to her incredible performance. This charming, gracious, talented young lady flew out from New York the Sunday before Friday’s opening with four days to rehearse with the cast and learn Jennifer’s lines. No small trick. She’ll blow you away with her artistic bent, her warmth, sense of humor, and appreciation for the opportunity to grab Jennifer by the throat, making the 22-year-old scientific, rocket science, computer genius, an agoraphobic, unable to leave her house, bridled with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) into her own creation. No small trick because the first ten minutes of the play belong to Jennifer Marcus talking on her computer in rapid fire monologue, periodically making sure posted notes on her bedroom wall are stuck exactly where she wants them, repeatedly, rearranging objects on her desk.

Nguyen found Cardell’s production on the Internet, asking to audition. “After all,” she stated at Racine’s following the knock out production, “there aren’t that many roles available for Asian actresses.” When Cardell found it necessary to replace his lead, he called Nguyen in New York at 2:00 AM Sunday morning. Although she was in the process of moving, she caught the first flight possible to Denver, realizing hours later that perhaps she had bitten off more than her psyche could chew. With only four days to get everything together, Nguyen proved her psyche could handle large, seemingly impossible scary requirements just fine.

Written by playwright Rolin Jones while still in his 20s, this play became a nominee for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize. For the first time since 1997, the board declined to award the Pulitzer for drama. Sometimes very smart people do very dumb things.

When Cardell was in New York visiting friends, they wanted to take him to see this off-Broadway sensation. Dragging his heels, he wasn’t at all certain he wanted to spend his time with a play carrying such a strange name, (Funny, I had the same thought) but finally consented to go. Was he ever glad he went, jumping at the opportunity to bring it to Next Stage before anyone else could sew up the rights.

Producer Gene Kato went a step further; commissioning Musical Director Martha Yordy to write original music to underscore the machine gun oriented script. During the run of the show, the CD is available for sale in the Phoenix Lobby.

Despite a Pulitzer Prize nomination, and a highly successful off-Broadway run, the proof of the pudding lies in the production itself. Next Stage delivers with awesome credibility.

Peggy Stenmark designed the creative set that not only must encompass Jennifer’s bedroom, on an upper stage platform, hidden part of the time with sliding doors, but also take part of the house into consideration plus a few faraway places.

Adopted into a southern California suburban family from China, to the distress of her adopted mother, Adele Hartwick (Mari Geasair), Jennifer’s obsession carries her to wanting to find her birth mother. Although her adopted father, Mr. Marcus (Rich Hicks) takes everything in stride able to see the major problem between Jennifer and Adele is that they are very much the same: stubborn, determined clashing individuals. Marcus’s laid back attitude serves to piece together the time bomb living under his roof, also serving to continue to enable his intelligent daughter to feed her agoraphobic behavior. Hicks does a masterful job of walking the tangled tight rope between Jennifer and his uptight, threatened wife, a credible traveling business woman who hasn’t the foggiest idea how to relate to her daughter’s strange habits except by threats and force.

Geasair gives the strongest performance of her theatrical life. It is easy to identify with Adele’s desperate frustration, and at the same time frightening to see her “bullyish” demanding out of control anger simply because she doesn’t know what else to do. It is always a thrill to experience growth in an actor, and Geasair discovered a depth in her soul allowing her to dig deep, projecting that which she finds, frightening as it may be, keeping it tightly under control.

How to find your birth mother in China, when the thought of leaving your bedroom stirs anxieties, much less leaving the house? You put your genius mathematical scientific mind to work and build a robot that can fly to China on its own.

Although Jennifer Finley studies economics and international political economy at the Colorado School of Mines on scholarship she makes her professional debut as the robot Jenny Chow, and a grand debut it is. When Jenny Chow comes to life, Finley and Nguyen work hand and glove. With a slight, sly smile Finley admitted she spent a goodly amount of time on the computer researching robots and how they move. There aren’t that many prototypes to observe. Finley has now become one. If one wants to learn how robots move and respond, she is the one to watch.

Her flight to China is classic with the help of stagehands moving her with ease throughout the theatre aisles. A puppet is also used, but a puppet with a mind of its own.

He may be the producer of this show, but Gene Kato also sends the audience to the floor in laughter at his magnificent, hilarious renditions of Preston, Terrence, Dr. Yakunin and Colonel Hubbard. Because Jennifer communicates with them through the computer, you never know when they are going to pop up. Picture frames turn into windows, and there stands one of these detailed characteristic perfectly carved characters. One of Dr. Yakunin’s entrances will not be forgotten any time soon. The surprise element turns funny into funnier. Kato is simply a comic genius.

The laid back stoned pizza delivery guy, Todd, and Jennifer’s best friend, rankles Adele’s nerves for so wasting his life, bringing mouth watering delight to Mr. Hartwick with the smell of pizza. Delivering pizza while floating through some other universe, Todd has what it takes to entice Jennifer out of her room occasionally riding shotgun on his rounds. Jason Maxwell takes Todd for a hilarious ride of comic perfection.

One of the most touching scenes appears when Jenny Chow arrives at the doorstep of Jennifer’s birth mother wonderfully played by Geasair, with Hicks and Maxwell at a table reading Chinese newspapers as the birth mother’s husband and son. Above, in her bedroom, Jennifer gives Jenny commands, while her birth mother nervously wards off curious questions from her husband who knows nothing about this woman’s shameful past. Jennifer reflects anticipation and disappointment pleading for Jenny to fly home.

Jones holds the mistaken idea The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow appeals only to those under 30. A playwright couldn’t be more wrong. Deliciously entertaining, provocatively thoughtful, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow flirts between honest funny and fractured heartbreaking torn human relationships, science and cyberspace running out of control, Asian stereotypes, and screwed up military procedures.

Last year Next Stage rocked the theatre community with its award presentation of Assassins, and now leaves audiences open mouthed with it finite artistic, intelligently directed, creatively performed production of The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. All too sad it has only a three-week run with only one week left of production time. Competition vies heavily with several magnificent productions on the boards at the same time, but this one definitely deserves not only to be seen, but also to be experienced. The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow offers a mouthful of magnificent acting, and imagination tickling thoughts. Highly recommended, and then some. Not recommended for children because of its adult themes, cyberspace sexual fantasies, and easy use of the “F” word. Jennifer is an intellectual, after all, speaking from her factual mind, ruled by her imprisoned emotions.