Wakings! consists of four stories whose characters experience a variety of disruptions to their wakefulness and awareness.
The first story is called Victoria Station, by Harold Pinter. A taxi cab dispatcher (Ron Bottitta) instructs a driver (C. J. O’Toole) to pick up a customer at Victoria Station. However, the driver is in a confused state of mind. He keeps telling the dispatcher that he is next to a park, to later change it to Crystal Palace. He is also in love with the female passenger sitting in the back seat. The conversation between the dispatcher and the driver becomes a hilarious interaction as the dispatcher grows impatient in view of the driver’s inability to think coherently.
The second story is Rip Awake, by Robert Coover. This story is an expansion of Washington Irving’s classical fairytale Rip Van Winkle. Rip (Darrell Larson) wakes up after 30 years to find himself in a world different than the one he knew. Trying to get away from his nagging wife, Rip decides to take a walk up the mountains with his dog and falls asleep after drinking a strange beverage. Once he wakes up, with a long beard, ripped clothes, and a rusted musk, he finds out that the place where he used to hang out has changed it’s name, no one knows him in his town anymore, his wife has passed away, and he missed the American Revolution. Is this a dream? A hallucination? Or has he descended into madness?
Next is another Harold Pinter’s story called A Trip to Alaska. Deborah (Diana Cignoni) has been in a coma for 30 years, She suddenly wakes up, with Hornby (Ron Bottitta) next to her bed. As she regains consciousness, she talks and behaves like the 16 years-old girl she was when she fell into the coma. As her memories come back, her sister Pauline (Kristina Ladeggard) comes to visit and Deborah’s dynamic relationships with her family and Hornby are revealed.
The last piece is called Siddhartha, by German writer Hermann Hesse. This is a piece featuring Siddhartha (C. J. O’Toole), a man that left behind his material possessions to embark in a journey of spiritual awakening. Living by the river and practicing meditation, Siddhartha embraces the teachings of the Buddha and is able to see and experience the completeness of the circle of life. For this section of the play, Cignoni, Ladeggard, Bottitta, and Larson read excerpts from Herman Hesse’s novel.
Wakings! is a trip to the darkest, brightest, and most intriguing states of the human mind, a step into the unknown so fascinating that might motivate director Ron Sossi to explore the possibility of Wakings! Part Two.
Wakings!
Written by Robert Coover, Hermann Hesse and Harold Pinter
Directed by Ron Sossi, presented by Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Ron Sossi Artistic Director, in association with Isabel and Harvey Kibel
Performances: April 30 – June 5
Wednesdays at 8 p.m.: May 11* and May 25 ONLY
Fridays at 8 p.m.: May 6, May 13, May 20*, May 27**, June 3
Saturdays at 8 p.m.: April 30 (Opening), May 7, May 14, May 21, May 28, June 4
Sundays at 2 p.m.: May 1, May 8, May 15, May 22, May 29, June 5
*Post-show discussions
**Wine Night: enjoy complimentary wine and snacks and after the show.
Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90025
Tickets: https://odysseytheatre.com/whats-on/awakings/
