Wicked Tongue Arts of Orlando presented Death Face at Orlando Fringe. Adam McCabe wrote the show was about a killer new app of a company called BuHu that enables people to have their bad news delivered door to door. In the opening scene a courier named Kelly Kelly (Jerry Jobe Jr.) delivered bad news to a woman who was bound with a sack over her face. As he tried to confirm her identity to deliver the news, a man with a fury mask entered and shot her in the head. Having someone die while delivering news wasn’t a part of the job he was prepared for.
He spirals into depression while a new hire, Peggy (Leigh Green) tied to cheer him up. The rest of the staff envy his experience and seem intent on triggering him to keep reliving the experience. A sensual co-worker (Cassandra Heinrich) embraced the company culture and the boss (Brett McMahon) was only concerned that the couriers keep up with the growing demand for depressing bad news. One comic moment featured and old woman who didn’t give a damn about any bad news since she had already lived through a shit storm of a life.
I didn’t quite know which way the story was going. Cynical humor was mixed with a few rare moments of sincerity. However interpersonal relations seemed strained in this dark and menacing future of social media. I left the theater feeling confused and conflicted, but maybe that was the intent.