Experimental and Savvy

With its experimental theme, lack of real scenery and political undertones, it would be entirely too easy for the casual theatre-goer to walk out of “Bomb Shelter” after the first five minutes.

That’s because it’s nearly impossible to understand the two characters featured motivations. The lack of scenery and experimental dance incorporated as well only makes you more confused.

At first.

Those that can put these negative ailments to bed and simply wait for the story to unfold however will be rewarded with something completely original and equally bizarre.

The story of two lost lives, one, which is about to end, and one that has essentially ended before it was given a chance to begin. While “Bomb Shelter” [created by Kimberly Pau, Eric Mercado, Rachel R. Blackwell and DJ Karl Marx] is vanilla in approach, it’s dynamic in message. A performance piece with just two characters, it has to work hard to keep your attention. After a bit of drag early on, it ends up picking up quite nicely though. While it may seem no-frills at first, these two characters represent two completely different generations and frames of mind.

As the plot unfolds, they both show their darker sides and flaws. As it eventually turns out, they have more in common than you could have ever thought.

Nevertheless, in spite of their bonding, they are unable to shake loose of their fatal flaws. For Grandpa [played by Jay Painter], his inability to cope with the past has ruined his life. Young Wallace [Josh Lauria], however, is petrified of the future and how his family, society and god will judge him.

Despite the grit and raw portrayal of these characters, you learn a lot about them and what they represent in a very short time.

Unable to rid themselves of these demons, they are perhaps worse for wear in the end. But given the opportunity to finally free them proves to be too tempting an offer to refuse.

Dark and experimental, “Bomb Shelter” isn’t for everyone. The performances by are different, but through it all, they both prove themselves worthy of the stage.

Because of that, the play is a success.

In the end, this production is much like the phony crystal meth the two cook during the course of their bonding: dangerously volatile, but capable of providing a once in a lifetime experience.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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