"P.O.P." Reveals America's Obsession with the F--- Word

inMag Magazine
By Sean Parkinson

P.O.P., The Principles of Perfection, a new play by L.A. playwright/novelist Anthony Mora, takes dead aim at America's obsession with fame (the real F word) and our unquenching desire to grab those Warholian fifteen minutes. Just how far will a psychiatrist go to get his name splashed across the news? What deal with the devil will a celebrity-obsessed housewife make to become Oprah's newest darling?



"P.O.P. is a comedy," says Christian Kennedy, with a near cautionary giggle, suggesting that this particularly comedy is as black as they come. Ms. Kennedy is the director of P.O.P. which will premiere at The Sidewalk Theatre in Toluca Lake, on June 9th. "Theatre can be taxing if the writing isn't there. With P.O.P., the writing was so on the page, I saw the cast, the set design, everything, right away."

The genesis of P.O.P. springs from Anthony's years in the trenches of pop culture as a rock journalist, magazine editor and P.R consultant. "P.O.P. is about fame," explains Mora. "The cult of fame has become the religion of the 21st century. It's amazing how many people think that if they can just get on Oprah, their lives will be saved."

Sheri and Dr. Meyers, the two main characters in P.O.P. (played by Melissa Tan and Kevin T. McCarthy) are firm believers in the cult of celebrity, but for different reasons. Sheri, whose life is crumbling around her, conducts her life from the safety of a treadmill, barking commands to her brow-beaten maid and disappearing husband from a designer cell phone. Jimmy, her son, who has renamed himself Nuf, wears nothing but red Speedos and the British flag and speaks in unintelligible British slang. "Nothing is swept under the carpet with Sheri," says actress Melissa Tan. "She's a great character to play. Although the political incorrectness is funny, it's also illustrative of what becomes of someone faced with moral quandaries."

And the moral quandaries run fast and furious in Sheri's life, especially when she visits Dr. Meyers, a delicious fiend who puts the psycho in therapist. Dr. Meyers, author of the best-selling self help tome, Snap Out of It!, offers Sheri an unholy deal with the devil that would gain her instant international fame.

P.O.P. will be followed by BANG! A Love Story which will premiere at the Sidewalk Studio Theatre on August 4th. "It's remarkable how these projects got started," says Kurt Swanson, the managing director of The Sidewalk, who is producing both projects. "Anthony came to use the theatre for a reading of BANG! and while he was here rehearsing, I told him I was looking to produce a two-person show. I had the actress and the director. He showed me P.O.P. and within the week I was producing both P.O.P. and BANG!"

"BANG! had recently come out in paperback and I thought the timing was right to premiere the play adaptation," says Mora. "Scenes from BANG! had run in L.A and New York with Linda Cardellini (ER, Brokeback Mountain) in the lead role, but the Sidewalk's production will mark the world premier of the entire play. Because of Kurt's background in the theatre, and his work with Steppenwolf in Chicago, I was naturally flattered that he was interested in not only one, but both plays and very comfortable having him produce."

Although Mora had been set to direct, scheduling conflicts made it impossible. Ms. Kennedy will tackle the direction once again here. "I've always thought it would be fascinating to have a female direct BANG!," says Mora. "Once I saw Christian's work with P.O.P., I knew we'd found our director." Mora will go on to direct his newest work, Modern Love, in November.




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