Taxicab tales

Theater II presents a wild ride

Audiences tune in to HBO's "Taxicab Confessions" to indulge in a glimpse of the outrageous lives of different taxi passengers, but they'll get more than that when "Hellcab" comes to Theatre II this week.

Originally written as a play called "Chicago Cab" by Will Kern, the name was changed to "Hellcab" after the succession of short scenes with different passengers was made into a film. Each character gets into the cab with an issue that's discussed during the ride and in the end is sometimes resolved and sometimes not.

The Theatre II version follows the film's format and features six actors playing four or five characters each, with the aim of showing the diversity of people in society and how they interact with one another.

"It's very political," said director Ryan McWilliams, a sophomore. "It deals with racism, sexism and homophobia. It could be considered offensive, but it's offensive for a reason by showing what's going on in society; it's not there to just piss people off."

Since the play was written in the late '80s, certain material may seem dated, but much of what is said can still be relevant today, according to McWilliams.

One of the main themes of the play examines how people often try too hard to be politically correct without analyzing what they are doing.

McWilliams said part of the reason he chose to direct the play was because of the subject matter and how it strives to accomplish something meaningful.

"It's not just a play for a play's sake, it makes you think about how people treat each other," McWilliams said. "Hopefully, it will make people reevaluate the way they act and treat other people."
The set is minimal to reinforce audience focus on what is being said.

Format has proven to be a challenge for the actors because they only have a few minutes to portray each of their characters, making the rehearsal process easier but the opportunity to represent and identify with their characters more difficult.

"This was like no show I've ever tried out for. It doesn't really have a storyline, but that's what makes it fantastic," freshman Arianne Warner said. "It's also difficult as an actor because you only get a glimpse into one minute of these people's lives."

Junior Amanda Claytor, said, "The challenge is kind of what makes it fun. It was interesting as an actress to distinguish between the varying roles."

Senior Mike Setti plays the cab driver and is the one actor in the play to remain the same character throughout. "What I like about him [the character] is that he tries so hard to be a positive aspect of people's lives, but he has such a short time and sometimes he fails." he said. "At the very end, he comes to accept the limitations of the effect he has on their lives."

"Hellcab" is playing at Theatre II Jan. 15 to 19 at 8 p.m. with a midnight performance on Jan. 18.

Tickets cost $2 and may be purchased at the door.