Ring Twice for Miranda

Theatrical fiascos are actually hard to pull off. They cannot be merely mediocre—they must sit at the jaw-dropping intersection of ambitious intention and asinine implementation. While the title of Alan Hruska’s new drama suggests nineteen-fifties noir, this inept show is actually a dystopian “Upstairs Downstairs.” The titular character (Katie Kleiger) is a chambermaid who leaves her job with the tyrannical Sir (Graeme Malcolm) to go on the lam with the butler (George Merrick). Things don’t quite turn out as expected and… oh, why bother? The plot makes little sense, interminable conversations meander to nowhere, and the acting ranges from barely adequate to laughably hammy. At times, Hruska and the director, Rick Lombardo, seem to reach for Beckettian absurdism, but, no, that’s just bumbling storytelling. The show is certainly sui generis, but that doesn’t make it any good.