Binge-watching is just not for TV.
We explore the benefits of the phenomenon in the sci-fi theater world with The Honeycomb Trilogy.
It was an intense run that drew in old fans and created new ones.
But plenty of people who came late to the party felt they missed out.
Yet just a few years later, the field has changed.
Oh, and we know a hell of a lot more about Marsthat part is key.
Now, you donthaveto take all three plays in at once.
you might spread out the experience if you so choose.
The Honeycomb Trilogyis an alien invasion saga on an epic scale, but its also a family drama.
Hes brilliant and he feels everything in the world.
Ronnies like her father.
Shes so angry, and she never backs down.
And did I mention that it takes place in the exact same set ofAdvance Man?
Heres where some of the natural theater constraints establish the boundaries of this trilogy.
All three plays take place in the Cookes Florida living roomit just goes through a lot of changes.
The most we ever see is a leg, but it is one hell of a leg.
The emotions that these plays elicit are similarly both micro and macro.
It peppered every play, nearly every scene.
I cant even pretend to be impartial about these plays.
I first reviewed them over six months in 2012.
On that level alone, watchingThe Honeycomb Trilogywas a kind of therapy.
I also drew inspiration from these plays, these frontrunners of a now fairly flourishing subgenre of theater.
Then came the Honeycomb marathons.
One character who got more play this time around was The Bald Woman.
and Ronnie stiffening up and unconvincingly responding, Noooo…
Even as a war hero, 20 years on, shes suddenly vulnerable again.
It humanizes her a lot more than I recall from the 2012 run.
Neither Abbie nor Ronnie are blameless, yet the actors balance the audiences moments of revulsion with reluctant sympathy.
Again, I credit binge-watching the trilogy for best crystallizing many of Rogers themes.
Its the very definition of pansexual.
It would be a disservice not to mention the many other people we encounter in the post-invasion world.
Also, of course, theres the Cookes.
Replace the blood-spraying with ugly-crying, and you get the same result.
Like binge-watching television, binge-watching theater is the kind of experience that unites all age groups.
An experience this immersive is also unique each time it happens.
In theater, they ask, Why is tonight important?
The Honeycomb Trilogy runs through Nov. 14 at The Gym at Judson in New York City.
Find out more atGideon Productions website.
