{"id":136285,"date":"2026-01-16T15:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/136285\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:12:10","slug":"dead-man-calling-connects-orange-county-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/136285\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Dead Man Calling\u2019 connects \u2013 ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

THE CAST OF \u201cDead Man\u2019s Cell Phone\u201d is (left to right) Eric Parmer as Gordon Yuka Kawai as The Other Woman, Chris Brennan as Dwight, Mia Josimovic as Jean and Sarah Hoeven as Mrs. Gottlieb (WCP photo).<\/p>\n

By Thom deMartino
Orange County Tribune<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people say \u2018I love you\u2019 on the phone\u2026 where does it go?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Now playing through Jan. 25 at the Westminster Community Playhouse is the unusual comedy \u201cDead Man\u2019s Cell Phone.\u201d Written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Chloe King, the story is almost less about the titular dead man than the kindly (and compulsive people-pleaser) Jean (Mia Josimovi\u0107).<\/p>\n

Sitting across from him in a caf\u00e9, she only discovers his body when she\u2019s disturbed by the incessant ringing of his cell phone.<\/p>\n

She just can\u2019t help herself \u2013 compelled to answer, just to stop the noise. But she soon finds herself trapped, inventing reasons why Gordon (Eric Parmer) can\u2019t come to the phone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>And yet she decides to hold on to the device, and it\u2019s not long before Jean finds herself following up on the dead man\u2019s calls \u2013 first, meeting up with the woman who proves to be his mistress (Yuka Kawai); then even attending a memorial (and later, dinner) with Gordon\u2019s mother Mrs. Gottlieb (Sarah Hoeven), his brother Dwight (Chris Brennan) and his wife Hermia (also Yuka Kawai.)<\/p>\n

But while Jean has been dreaming up idealized versions of the dead man (\u201cI\u2026I think maybe I\u2026 loved him?\u201d she muses to herself at the memorial), the reality is considerably more stark: the relationships between the family members were quite strained.<\/p>\n

Gordon had broken off ties with his mother, had an arguably unhappy marriage, and a complex relationship with his brother.<\/p>\n

However, Jean finds herself weaving a tapestry of well-intended lies to try and make the various players feel better about their relationships with Gordon\u2026 making him out to be less callous than perhaps he was.<\/p>\n

And every now and again, inevitably, the phone begins to ring\u2026<\/p>\n

This definitely isn\u2019t a typical comedy for the Westminster Community Playhouse. It\u2019s less straightforward narrative than symbolic commentary on the relationships we have, both with the people around us and with our technology.<\/p>\n

The fact that Jean \u2013 who we learn has never had a cell phone herself, previous to this point \u2013 finds herself essentially chained to this technological device that she cannot seem to let go, is a less than subtle metaphor for where we are as a culture, as we become increasingly entangled with our tech. (Let\u2019s not get started on A.I.)<\/p>\n

The sparse stage allows the players to make full use\u00a0 of the space, coming into play as the cast change the scene: note the increasing instances of characters relating to each other in the half-light \u2013 a steely stare between mother-in-law and wife, or the hard, uncomfortable glare between brothers \u2013 as the moments become more abstract, an interpretive dance in the darkness.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s marvelous work by a number of the newest faces at the theater, including Josimovi\u0107, Parmer, Brennan and Kawai, with WCP veteran Hoeven returning to bring the delightfully eccentric Mrs. Gottlieb to life.<\/p>\n

Dwight has never been his mother\u2019s favorite, and Brennan has a wonderful physicality in the way he carries that burden, beaten down as he tries to get Jean to relate to him and not the phone; Kawai\u2019s turns as both the mistress and the wife are excellent as well (the other woman\u2019s accent is beyond belief, and deliberately so.)<\/p>\n

Strangely enough, the core of story revolves around the relationship between Jean and Gordon, even though they never met in life: even when the late husband isn\u2019t in the scene, the audience feels his presence. (That being said, Parmer does an outstanding job in his role, but that\u2019s all we\u2019ll reveal here.)<\/p>\n

Josimovi\u0107 takes the abstract, unusual moments for Jean in the play, and makes sense of them. Where the audience may wonder why she keeps the phone of a stranger and weaves these increasingly complicated white lies, it becomes understandable through the lens of Josimovi\u0107\u2019s offbeat portrayal.<\/p>\n

A very different comedy that will leave you mulling it over long after the show has ended, \u201cDead Man\u2019s Cell Phone\u201d is a unique cerebral treat\u2026 even for those perennially smartphone-distracted of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cDead Man\u2019s Cell Phone\u201d: Mia Josimovi\u0107, Eric Parmer and Sarah Hoeven star in this unusual comedy about our relationships with technology, and each other. Playing through January 25 at the Westminster Community Playhouse, 7272 Maple St, Westminster. Ticketing information available online at http:\/\/www.wcpstage.com<\/a>, or call (714) 893-8626.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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