From Vanishing Sights:
“People don’t just up and leave their lives.” So says Kip Harris (played by Barrett Guyton), but he isn’t exactly right. In fact, in David Lindsay-Abaire’s Wonder of the World, people do just up and leave their lives; or, at the very least, they try to. Kip’s wife, Cass (Abby Jones), unhappy with the stale state of her marriage, packs a suitcase, and, despite Kip’s protestations, grabs the first ticket to Niagara Falls, the Mecca of lovers, both newlywed and jilted.
This UA production, directed by Jimmy Kontos, features some superb technical design. Ece Demirkol (Scenic Designer) has created a gorgeously expansive environment out of the somewhat small Allen Bales Theatre space. Clouds, painted directly onto the stage and the upstage wall, reflect both the somewhat airy nature of Cass Harris’ personality, as well as the destination she wishes to attain. Curiously, clouds even hang from the rafters in the form of painted box-frames—a subtle touch that never seemed to affect the play, and one that I did not notice until the house lights came up for intermission. Though I often find the use of projectors in plays rather trite, Demirkol pulls it off, “hanging” above the hotel bed an image of Jackson Pollock’s Blue (Moby Dick)—a painting (seen above) that seems to be striving for the same adventure that Cass is striving for herself.