Dead Man's Cell Phone

photo: Joan Marcus

Anne Bogart's tuned-in direction, G.W. Mercier's lean sets and witty costumes, Darron L. West's nifty soundscape, Mary Louise Parker's heightened, oddball performance heading up an able ensemble: everything is in place for Sarah Ruhl's latest flight of whimsy to soar. But it doesn't. After an intriguing set-up (with Parker as an awkward, disconnected introvert who begins answering calls to the cell phone of a man who's died at an adjacent cafe table) and some promising speeches that toy with the idea that our technological connectedness has actually made us more disconnected from each other, the overly precious and overlong play starts to grate on the nerves: so much quirky style to deliver so little.