FringeNYC Review by Scott Stiffler
THE UNIVERSE OF MATT JENNINGS
Writer: Matt Jennings / Director: Levi Austin Morris
1 hour
There are only slightly more stars in heaven than there are one-person shows about growing up and growing into yourself.
But by planting a rainbow flag firmly in the domain of sci-fi mega-fandom, Matt Jennings — a proud geek with a shameless gym rat’s physique — succeeds in this one-hour mission to boldly go back and forth between his enduring love for all things “Star Trek” and his younger self’s struggle to claim a place in the strange new worlds of black identity, gay sexuality, and Christian faith.
Judging from the reaction to references both broad and obscure, last Saturday’s performance (its first at FringeNYC) had plenty of appreciative Trekkies in the audience — and although it certainly helps, chances are you’ll enjoy the show even if you’re not aware that Starfleet’s Kobayashi Maru simulation test is rigged so every cadet will fail; or that the series premiere of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” had the Q Continuum putting humanity on trial; or that Bajorans believe Captain Sisko (Trek’s first black protagonist) is The Emissary of the Prophets. As parable, Easter egg or plot device, all of this figures into the flashback-heavy tale of Jennings’ life journey.
Performed with an appealing hybrid of sugar rush enthusiasm, quizzical wonderment and sober self-awareness, Jennings alternates between breaking the fourth wall to tell coming-of-age anecdotes and injecting himself, insecurities and all, into classic Trek scenarios (highlighted by dead-on impressions, the best of which is 1960s-era Mr. Sulu, played by then-closeted George Takei).
Well-timed sound effects and low-tech slides establish the era and mood, as does Jennings’ frequent retreat to the safety of his center-stage command chair — a piece of vintage kitchen furniture tricked out to resemble the iconic perch on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.
Indeed, the long shadow cast by James T. Kirk hovers over all aspects of Jennings’ life — beginning at the impressionable age of four, when he drops his Grover doll upon hearing William Shatner warble “Space…the final frontier” for the first time. His new obsession is not a romantic crush-cum-gay awakening, though (that happens in the teen years, when a certain Jedi’s swirling cape and dangling lightsaber induces a memorable episode of movie theater swooning). Instead, his fixation on Kirk is a pure expression of the fanboy’s yearning to live just one day with a starship captain’s brash charisma, natural leadership skills, and unbeatable karate moves.
It’s no wonder that the influential relatives and Trek cast members he lovingly impersonates always get their own slide, while his talk of self frequently involves the use of an empty picture frame. But idols tend to break if they fall — and the show is at its best when the real people and escapist fiction he’s created his identity from disappoint.
You just don’t invest that amount of time watching Trek or speaking well or going to church, only to be called a nerd or an Oreo cookie or a sinner, right? The series of monologues that contemplate such matters have a rhythm and a voice and an urgent energy all their own. In these moments, Jennings’ “Universe” expands into something much more than an agreeable solo performance — and hints at greater things to come, when the skills he brings to looking inward are applied to other frontiers.
Sat. Aug. 22 at 8:45pm, Wed. Aug. 26 at 5:30 p.m. At Spectrum (121 Ludlow St., 2nd Fl., btw. Delancey & Rivington Sts.). For tickets ($18), visit FringeNYC.org. Also purchase at FringeCentral, inside the City Lore cultural heritage center (56 E. First St. btw. First & Second Aves.), daily from 2–8 p.m. Order on your smartphone up to 30 minutes prior to performance, at FringeOnTheFly.com.
