Review: “My Neighbors Are Spying On Me” by Playwrights’ Round Table

It’s hard to imagine that espionage has ever been quite as amusing as it becomes in My Neighbors Are Spying On Me. This intriguingly bizarre and refreshingly original new play by Michael R. McGuire is currently celebrating its world premiere in a production by Playwrights’ Round Table, which opened in Orlando Shakes’ Santos-Dantin Studio Theater this past weekend. Overall, I was impressed by the company’s highly polished and surprisingly coherent take on the piece, which seems to have been deliberately constructed to avoid offering a particularly coherent narrative. 

To its credit, though, My Neighbors Are Spying On Me is a much easier piece to enjoy than it is to understand. By cloaking its absurdist core in the guise of situational comedy, it becomes significantly more watchable than other entries into the notoriously difficult genre. This allows it to appeal to prospective audience members who are looking for an evening of easy laughs as well as to those who prefer their theatre more thought-provoking. 

In other words, as long as you don’t expect easy—or, well, any—answers from My Neighbors Are Spying On Me, you can probably expect to have a heck of a good time. 

Insofar as it can really be said to have one, the plot of this piece revolves around the arrival of Frank Fitzgerald as a mysterious new tenant in an otherwise unremarkable apartment complex. Clearly, we’re supposed to think he’s up to something sinister, and his eccentric neighbors quickly start to catch on that there may be more to Frank than meets the eye. But as those neighbors become nosier and nosier, Frank’s suspiciousness eventually starts to feel less like paranoia as it becomes less and less clear who is really spying on whom. 

Though the play resists establishing many situational specifics beyond these basics, there is a sense of menace under the surface that makes it feel more unsettling than its comic trappings initially suggest. As the play goes on, signs of anxiety and emptiness begin to bleed through from beneath the characters’ performative politeness and outward eccentricity. Subtly, McGuire hints that the neighbors’ real problem may not be the potential spy in their midst, but the erosion of social trust that makes spying feel like a necessary substitute for genuine community ties.

Under Jeremy’s Wood direction, actor Joe Kolasa quickly establishes Fitzgerald’s shifty vibe with exaggerated mannerisms, a perfect choice for the script’s satirical style. His highly physical performance anchors the play’s first act, which made it somewhat disappointing to see the character disappear for much of the second as focus shifts to his neighbors—but, happily, the play’s strong ensemble cast proves more than capable of carrying the show in his absence. 

Jonna Kae Volz is a riot as Randall Gilliam, the “widowed” landlady whose sexual interest in Frank becomes increasingly hilarious as it becomes increasingly unsubtle. And, as the Madisons, a wealthy and snobbish married couple, Daniel Luis Molina and Shelby Randle also prove comedic standouts with their total commitment to their caricatureish characters. Some of the show’s funniest moments come from Randle’s fearless approach to an embarrassing ailment suffered by her character, which I think deserves a special shout-out. 

Sidne Laine does a fine job in portraying Emerson Duvall, an irreverent teenager who also has sexual designs on Frank. Refreshingly, Frank isn’t the slightest bit interested in taking advantage of her youthful attentions- and not just because he fears retribution from Emerson’s overprotective father Gus, the play’s sixth and final character. 

He’s also perhaps the most human and grounded one in a play otherwise populated with over-the-top buffoons, and actor Joe Llorens is quite touching in some of Gus’s more vulnerable moments. 

Though a few references to modern conveniences like Kindle and Uber make it apparent that the play takes place in present day, the small-town suburbia setting gives it a retro vibe that this production embraces in a 50’s inspired aesthetic. This is reflected in a set designed and constructed by Bonnie Sprung, as well as in vibrant costumes that help in establishing each character’s archetype. 

Ordinarily, I think I might’ve been more bothered by a play that leaves as much up to interpretation as My Neighbors Are Spying on Me does—and I can imagine a somewhat more satisfying version that preserves the work’s Rorschach-like allegorical ambiguity but makes a little more effort to tie up narrative loose ends. But between the excellent work of the play’s ensemble cast, playwright McGuire’s well-constructed dialogue, and director Wood’s genius for slapstick staging, these ostensible flaws are easily obscured by how much of the play’s humor actually lands. 

Luckily, you don’t have to be a spy to sneak a peek for yourself at what this group of crazy neighbors are up to. To avoid missing your chance to catch them in the act at the second and final weekend of My Neighbors Are Spying on Me, you can buy your ticket today!

Remaining Showtimes and Ticket Info:

Friday, April 24th and Saturday April 25th at 8pm

Sunday April 26th at 3pm

Tickets $22.50 for general admission, $17.50 for seniors, students with ID, and theme park workers

Full Credits:

CAST

FRANK FITZGERALD…………………………………….Joe Kolasa
RANDALL GILLIUM…………………………………Jonna Kae Volz
EMERSON DUVALL………………………………………Sidne Laine
GUS DUVALL…………………………………………………Joe Llorens
DAVID MADISON…………………………………Daniel Luis Molina
MAGGIE MADISON………………………………….Shelby Randle
Understudy for Ms. Laine……………………………..Lacy T. Patton

PRODUCTION CREW

DIRECTOR……………………………………………..Jeremy Wood
STAGE MANAGER…………………………………..Nicole Ehrlich
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR……………………………………Chuck Dent
LIGHTING/SOUND………………………………….Aaron Babcock
SET DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION…………………….Bonnie Sprung
DRAMATURG/SOUND DESIGNER………………………………Chuck Dent