Sisi Reid, Amani Alexander, and Cynthia Davis in “The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company.” Photo by Gisela Estrada.
“The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company,” a devised work presented by the Theater Alliance at the Anacostia Playhouse, is a vibrant and energetic production stuffed with music, storytelling, artistic movement, and audience participation. However, these many strong parts do not quite add up to a completely satisfying whole.
…a vibrant and energetic production…The vaudevillian roadshow stops are inspired and the cast and visuals are great.
In creator Holly Bass’s piece, first workshopped with Theater Alliance in the same space in 2018 and now directed by Ezinne Elele, three Black women from the 31st century are on a mission in the American South in 1868 to prevent an illness that will ultimately wreak havoc on their society. Their minds are from the 3000s but in order to make the three operatives seem authentic to their time, each was born into slavery before the Civil War with mental implants that kicked in when it was time for their mission to begin.
This is a fascinating premise—a mashup of “The Terminator” and “The Last of Us” with some sleeper agents thrown in the mix. Beyond several expository monologues, as well as a confusing, mid-show argument about a botched mission to the 1960s and the death of one of the women’s fathers from the illness, it has little to do with what actually happens on stage.
What the audience experiences is a trip with the women on the snake oil, medicine show circuit, with three stops where they try to interest the crowd in various elixirs. The women are not really trying to sell their product, but attempting to dispense as many samples as they can since the they contain compounds that will kill the nascent virus before it starts.
The three presentations are delightful, with the deep voice of Sisi Reid blending with the higher tones of Cynthia Davis and Amani Alexander, and Davis accompanying the trio on a banjo. Each of the three stops also involves light audience participation, and the actors are adept at crowd work.
Choreographer Jasmine Hearn’s skill is evident in these scenes and in the quieter movement pieces that come in between the numbers. The three actors read each other well and work in unison. Michele Onwochel’s lighting design is particularly effective in these moments.
The scenic design by Gisela Estrada is a high point of the production. It is centered around a covered wagon that, coupled with cleverly effective projections by Jeremy Bennett, gives a real sense of motion. Estrada has also dangled tree trunks from the rafters. These light up in a spooky green to underscore certain moments in the show.
There is more that works than that doesn’t in “The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company.” The vaudevillian roadshow stops are inspired and the cast and visuals are great. The storyline is interesting as well, but needs further fleshing out—and a bit less confusing lore and exposition—to be as effective as the rest of the piece.
Running Time: One hour and 30 minutes with no intermission.
“The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company” runs through March 17, 2024, presented by the Theater Alliance at the Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Place SE, Washington, DC. For more information and to purchase tickets, go online.
