Spending the End of the World on Ok Cupid Review – Quirky and Intriguing

With a nod to Cupid and Valentine’s Day, the Pear Theatre in Mountain View anticipates the day with Bay Area playwright Jeffrey Lo’s “Spending the End of the World on Ok Cupid”! directed by Michael Champlin. This World Premiere plays Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 17.

Basically, the play asks the question ‘If this was your last day on earth, would you want to spend it alone?’ The play is charming, sweet and quirky, and raises many questions.  It looks at the impact of technology on relationships. It sets up the premise that a modern-day prophet has correctly predicted the disappearance of half the world’s population and also warns those remaining that when the clock strikes midnight, they are the next to go. With 12 hours to live, and many friends and family members suddenly gone, the need for human connection is heightened. Who do you turn to?  Where do you find someone to relate to in those last hours.

Enter OK Cupid.com and lots of smart phones. The actors are terrific and succeed in presenting off beat characters that ring true and are, for the most part, sympathetic but always convincing.  Many of the following play several roles: Tasi Alabastro, Ivette DeItoro, Tonya Duncan, Filip Hofman, Keith Larson, Tyler Pardini, Samantha Ricci, Michelle Skinner, Gwendolyne Wagner, and Michael Welland. Paulino Deteal’s set design allowed the story to be effectively told along with the lighting design by Meghan Souther.  Kelly Barazza manages the stage, no easy task.

There are many characters and many stories and the dialogue quickly brings to the viewer insights about each of the characters.  Humorous, clever and charming interactions develop even as the end of the world hovers. Even after the play ends there is material to think about and discuss – role of the smart phone – isolating or connecting, loneliness in our society, emotional honesty in connecting, and much more.

Originally commissioned for Ohlone College’s award-winning Theatre and Dance Department in 2016, it received acclaim as “a quick-paced, thought provoking, visually hypnotic piece of entertainment” Jeffrey Lo, who has won many awards, is active in theater in the Bay Area as both a playwright and a director.  He is the Casting Director at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and a graduate of the Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute and a proud alumnus of the UC Irvine Drama Department.

And Pear Theatre has a great deal to encourage your attendance.  They are offering some “four-play”-a special price for a half-season subscription wherein purchasers can get any four of the remaining shows of the 2018-19 season for $100.00, four shows for the price of three.  What a deal!  More information at: The Pear Theatre website

The Pear Theatre

1110 La Avenida St.

Mountain View

650.254.1148

Photos by Michael Craig

DISCLAIMER: Spending the End of the World on Ok Cupid is not produced or endorsed by, or in any way affiliated with Match Group, LLC or Humor Rainbow Inc., the exclusive owners of the OKCUPID trademarks.