Answer the call (Bunbury Theatre)
Jan 20
3 min read
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Dean Man’s Cellphone
By Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Kathy Preher Reynolds
A Review by Regina Harris
Entire contents are copyright © 2025 Regina Harris. All rights reserved
These days, our cellphones are our lifelines to family, friends, work, and the world.
In the beginning, phones were for calling to speak to someone when you weren’t
near your landline. Cellphone companies charged us by the minute for our
conversations and extra for long distance calls not to mention the new, fun way to
communicate called “texting.” Then the cellphone companies started charging us
by the month so we could be on our phones 24/7. We began to play games, seek
information and connect on social media. It didn’t take long for older generation to
bemoan the younger generation’s attachment to their phones - heads down,
disconnected from those around them. “You’re missing life because you’re always
on your phone!” they’d exclaim. And then, over time, what started as a fun new
toy eventually became a vital tool for work. While we now spend an even more
time isolated in our technology, we often are truly are busy working, networking,
and doing business of all sorts. Dead Man’s Cellphone examines the intersection of
living in the isolation of technology vs. living in the moment.
Published in 2007, the play is set in those earlier days of cellphone usage. Not
everyone used them heavily or even owned one, least of all Jean (played by Sage
Martin), an unattached woman of about 40 with an indeterminate job who
frequents cafes alone, taking a book with her to read. She’s sitting in one, quietly
reading when the cellphone of the man at the next table, Gordon (Paul DePrey)
starts ringing incessantly, much to Jean’s irritation. Once she realizes he isn’t
answering it because he has died, she decides to answer his calls, presumably to
pass the word on to his callers. Then Jean, isolated without technology, sees an
opportunity to get connected: with each caller, she starts weaving a world for
Gordon with herself at center. Her stories become hilariously wilder with each call;
but they also reveal some dark truths.
Director Kathy Preher Reynolds and the cast dug deep to find the meaning in the
characters’ words and actions. With a lesser cast, this concept could have gone
terribly wrong, but they quite professionally brought each character to life. Besides
Martin and DePrey, Mary Ann Mathews rocked red hot pants and an
overabundance of sparkly jewelry as Gordon’s out-there mom (Mrs. Harriet
Gottlieb) while Zac Campbell-Hoogendyk, as his bizzarro younger brother Dwight, was as touching as he was funny. Their performances reminded of a quote from the
TV character Ted Lasso about meeting friends’ moms, “It’s like reading an
instruction manual as to why they’re nuts.” It was a very clear instruction manual,
indeed.
Morgan Schussler-Williams as The Other Woman/Stranger filled the stage with
feverish energy and more than a few surprises. A graceful addition to the cast is Jill
Higginbotham as Hermia, Gordon’s wife, playing off her real-life husband, Paul
DePrey.
The set design is simple yet evocative, utilizing screen projections to highlight
setting. Some of the projections include Louisville locations, allowing the setting
to feel like home. The scene changes by Goth-clad production assistants
underscored the dark humor of the production.
This production really dials it in and thankfully there are a few more opportunities
to see it.
Dead Man’s Cellphone
Bunbury Theatre
January 17-February 1 2025
The Henry Clay
604 S Third St.
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 585-5306
