02/27/08 – New York Theater – 7:00 PM – Runtime 1 hour 15 minutes

2 ¼ out of 4 Stars

Based on the premise of a woman who is escaping her old life by reinventing her identity, “Does Anybody Know Sarah Paisner” tries very hard to give us a feeling of the gritty and often insane subculture of Internet dating, message boards, and chat rooms, and the psychopathic games that often are played in the anonymity that is afforded to those who can afford a computer and an Internet connection. Starting out in Ginger and Ella’s apartment, we are given a rapid and often confusing, though masterfully staged glimpse into the mental psychosis of a young woman trying to find a new identity amongst the virtual noise of the cyber world while trying to escape a past and an identity she would rather leave behind. Definitely not for younger audiences, (can a play receive an NC17 rating?), this saucy and unapologetic play runs the gamut from comedic to truly macabre while showcasing some truly wonderful acting talent.

While the title character, who initially goes by “Ginger”, (a name she stole from the character on “Gilligan’s Island,”) reinvents herself time and time again with false posts and new identities in the cyber communities she haunts, she portrays a woman running from her past into a future that she can never truly be a part of. Exhibiting desperation, as well as self loathing and a fear of intimacy and a loathing of others by building false connections with people who would inevitably not be interested if they knew who she really was, Kathryn Merry, who portrays Ginger, gives a wonderful performance, at moments really making you wonder if she skipped her medication that day.

Jennifer Lane really does try to make Ginger, (her real name we later discover is actually Sarah Paisner,) into a human character by incorporating events of her own childhood into one of the more humorous moments in the show. Sadly, the single-mindedness to detail that is delivered through Ginger is not carried throughout the rest of the characters. Although the actors themselves do a better-than-average job of rounding out the rest of the characters, it seems that the characters are written very 2-dimensionally, and often lack motivation or direction. The character of Ella, while portrayed earnestly and adeptly by Maggie Benedict, seems to have no backbone, and no sense of where she is going from one moment to the next. This is especially evident in a scene with the character of Wray, acted out by Jason Odell Williams, where Ella discovers Wray sifting through Ginger’s boxes. At the start of the scene, she says she doesn’t want him in her apartment, and by the end of the scene, they are co-conspirators in the snooping. The partnership seems unauthentic and forced at best, although the actors do their best to salvage the awkward scene.

Even from the beginning, the relationships between the characters is often confusing and unexplained, and even when it is explained, it often leaves more questions than answers. Ginger has a scene early in the show where she is confronted with a hallucination or haunting, referred to only as “The Woman”, and you are left to wonder initially if this woman is another inhabitant of the apartment, or a figment of Ginger’s imagination. Skillfully played by Alana Jackler, who really does make every bit of her scenes, this intriguing character really does steal the scenes she’s in, and makes what could easily be taken over the top or done as a cheesy performance into a fully believable and well rounded character, even if they don’t really exist in the world being portrayed on the stage.

The cast really does make the show here, as the play itself seems under-written, and at times lacking a cohesiveness that would make the events more logical and believable. The only sense that one can make out of some of the story line is by accepting Sarah’s mental state as a motivation for some of her decisions, and even that’s a stretch at best.

The staging is innovative, including the use of shadow-characters against a silkscreened backdrop, which is really a stroke of genius, and adds intrigue as well as dimension to the play. The lighting is unique, although sometimes the transitions between scenes are awkward. Sadly, the amount of time devoted to the build-up to Sarah AKA Ginger’s secrets’ big reveals leaves little time for any additional wrapping up of the story, or even further character development so we can understand more what the relationships are or even were supposed to be, and if the reveal was gotten to earlier, than the rest of the fallout wouldn’t have to be so condensed. Additionally, there are times when the shadow-characters on the backdrop, while funny, seem excessive, and could be lessened to reduce the dragging effect that occurs prior to the reveal. Overall, the show isn’t great, and will leave you with more questions than solutions, but the premise is very imaginative and the actors really do make the most of what they’re given, so much as it is.

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