MUST SEE: Machine Learning

A timely play has the goods

Molly Serenduke

Kate Vozella's play Machine Learning, presented by Little Engine Theater, follows two couples in the not so distant future as they are made to co-exist, allegedly for purposes of training humanoid companions. The premise feels a bit like a brand new reality TV show where the audience is thinking, wow, I can't believe this shit is real. 

Staged at Manhattan Neighborhood Network, the production does a nice job using the non-traditional theater space, utilizing a slick, naturalistic set and mostly practical lights to tell a compelling story that includes all kinds of interesting twists and turns. 

What's immediately clear, and gains throughout the show, is that Vozella's instincts as a writer are strong and engaging. Her scenes never drag. The story and characters are continuously on to the next thought-provoking and slick interest. I'm gonna use the word slick a lot because the play feels that way: slick; it's stylized, positively, this way. There are ups and downs in terms of moments that feel very, very present, and others that feel a bit distanced, but the play has been imagined by all talented parties involved to pace and sustain at a good clip.

Photo by  Valerie Terranova

The piece makes interesting and nuanced statements about a person's body and its role, but the piece never lectures at you and it's not at all didactic. The characters - all perfectly cast, by the way - are nicely humanized, and Vozella has strong command of the plot. 

The world of Machine Learning is slick, cool and dynamic, and it ultimately turns menacing. One thing that did distance me a bit from parts of the end was how stretched I was in one direction - one of the characters is a frightening sociopath - that other very human plot points lost a bit of oomph as a result.  

Regardless, what results in totality is a play with an enormous amount of style, grit and serious worth. Very slick, indeed.

While watching, I kept wondering, is this a Must See? and the answer was always the same. Yes. A very good sign.