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The Gods Are Pounding My Head! (AKA Lumberjack Messiah)
by Gabriela Pawelec

Using his own unique technique, Richard Foreman churns out yet another odd play. His Ontological-Hysterical Theater produces one of his plays every year. His different style includes improvisation-based playwriting and wacky set designs.

The space in the St. Marks church was very small and confrontational for the audience. The set itself included doves hanging from the ceiling, checkered walls, some sort of slide, the front of a train & and other random instruments that are put to use later in the play. The set design and atmosphere of the play is reminiscent of the movies: Clockwork Orange, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz.

The first two characters we are introduced to are Dutch and Frenchie; two lonely lumberjacks played by Jay Smith and T. Ryder Smith. The acting and set design are definitely the best aspects of this play. Frenchie says strange one-liners then turns to the audience as though speaking to them, which makes the character creepy yet funny. Dutch is a plump man who is more adorable than creepy. In the beginning both of them say hilariously odd and nonsensical things like "Suppose I were to postulate that the engine is the heart? How would you people deal with that?" Lines like that will reverberate and pound your head days after watching the piece. Dutch and Frenchie both look terrified and confused. Like they're hamsters and the slide would be the exercise wheel in their cage. Logic becomes blurred once Maude, played by Charlotta Mohlin, joins the production. Maude distracts Dutch and Frenchie and a weird vibe presents itself among them. Maude is an even stranger character compared to the lumberjacks. She seems a little more crazy and sad than the rest. She has a squeaky voice and is eerily beautiful. Her actions are child-like as she tries to gain the lumberjacks' acceptance but is also really shy at the same time.

The pancake people who are similar to the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz randomly run in and out of the open space. A God-like voice booms on set, leaving the audience to question whether the voice is coming from the characters' heads or if there is some sort of God-like leader of the pancake people, Dutch and Frenchie. It is unclear if Dutch and Frenchie are the leaders of the pancake people or the other way around or if God controls them all. It is even harder to distinguish where Maude fits into the whole scheme of things.

The insane, irrational mess of a show becomes less hilarious once Maude arrives. The combination of the weird vibe her presence creates and the fact that we've heard every line a hundred times by then leaves the viewer restless. There are only so many times the word "postulate" can be used in one night. What was immensely funny in the first half hour becomes redundant and annoying by the second. There is no actual plot, which leaves the characters to run around, saying and doing strange things that could only be entertaining for so long. Too much of a good thing is what ultimately makes this piece unsuccessful.