Plot unnecessary

Watching Capital Stage’s Love and Information, by award-winning playwright Caryl Churchill, is like sitting in front of the television set and flicking through the channels one by one, pausing briefly to see what’s going on. Eleven talented actors, some of the best Sacramento has to offer, perform in the roles of 100 characters during 50-plus scenes that play out over 95 minutes. There is no plot to intrude on the action and you’d think this would be a big mess, but miraculously, it works beautifully.

Under director Benjamin T. Ismail, the show moves at a fast clip and in the end, the viewer realizes the importance of “communication” in our lives, be it sad information, funny information or informative information.

Churchill takes the audience on an exhilarating carnival ride. Contrast two giddy teenagers mooning over a popular star with a conversation with an Alzheimer’s patient, or learning how scientists collect and test chicken brains, or various words for the thing we put our dinner on as we sit down to eat each night.

It sounds as if it wouldn’t fit together, but it does. This is innovative theater at its finest, thanks to the skill of all involved (no small amount of which includes the technicians who designed the set, lighting and sound—all integral to the success of this show).

This is a unique, acclaimed new play and it should not be missed.