“Contraption”
Written by Bilal Dardai
Showing: The Neo-Futurists at the Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave., through March 1
Tickets: $10-$15
Contact: (773) 275-5255; www.neofuturists.org

By Brian Kirst

Contributing writer

Eyes brimming with tears, actress Dana Dardai describes the emotional fates of the wives and families of brilliant inventors. This is the penultimate scene in The Neo-Futurists’ latest production, “Contraption,” and it reveals the secret of this company’s frequent success. Long regarded for their zaniness and intelligence, this quietly dramatic moment helps prove that it is actually a strong emotional heart that is at the core of the Neo-Futurists’ work and perhaps the reason for their consistent brilliance.

There is plenty of absurd genius at work in Bilal Dardai’s thought-provoking “Contraption.” Dardai illustrates the correlation between insanity and brilliance by examining the lives of both well-regarded and practically unknown inventors. Dardai also plays with the concept that the longings and lives of most creative artists and public figures aren’t that different from the scientific adventurers profiled. All of them, Dardai deduces, desire to produce something revolutionary and life altering.

Dardai’s work examines the adventures of poor put-upon Figure A, who is forced into a life of inventiveness by the other figures on stage and an unforgiving script. Figure A is cajoled into creativity, fits of jealousy and possible suicide, abetted by the oral histories of famously neurotic inventors. Examples given include Wallace Crothers (the inventor of nylon), who kept a vial of cyanide around his neck, and Charles Babbage (a pioneer of computer science), who had a fixated hatred of organ grinders.

The personal war between the egotistical but sane Thomas Edison and the brilliant but essentially unstable Nikola Tesla is also recounted. Edison’s DC current paled in comparison to Tesla’s more powerful AC, which resulted in a lifelong conflict between the two. Edison’s personal life was also probably far less complex than Tesla’s. Tesla had a phobia of germs and of anyone who suffered from weight issues. He quirkily revolved his life around the number three and was often thrown out of his living quarters due to his most passionate keepsake—live pigeons. The show also features a comic highlight that involves the recreation of one inventor’s leap off a building with his overcoat-parachute invention. It doesn’t end well.

Dardai directs his favored ensemble with the charming eagerness of a puppy carousing through a pound. He allows the participants enough structure and freedom to truly allow his ideas to flow. Even when poking fun, this talented crew allows a respect and appreciation for their subjects’ determination and unmitigated resolve to shine through. As Figure A, Kurt Chiang charms with an exasperated hopefulness. Much like the audience, he is led on a journey offering up both surprise and a good natured fortitude. As Figure B, one of A’s guides, Dina Connolly offers a spry, comically acute performance. Connolly has an extremely likeable presence that resonates long after the lights are blackened. Joe Dempsey as Figure C, A’s true catalyst, presents himself with a true showman’s exuberance. He deadpans, riffs and commands the performing space with true skill.

All of the performers are abetted by Dan Broberg’s functional, fun set and by machine designer Erik Newman’s four-cornered, impractical invention for Figure A. Newman’s device is a comment on overzealous intent and the unpredictable joy of thought, making it the perfect representation for the Neo-Futurist’s truly fun and provoking “Contraption.”