By: Emi Feldmen
Special to The Chronicle

This past weekend, Spectrum Players presented “Dead Man’s Cellphone;” a delightful realistic comedy depicting the discovery of a late man’s cell phone and the young woman he impacted, learning about whom she really is.

As I entered Spiegel Theatre for the Saturday evening performance, I quickly noticed the director’s underlying message regarding today’s technology: society is completely engulfed. Members of the ensemble were walking around the theatre, consumed in their own cell phone conversations, while actors Eliza Hill and Cameron Draper sat at two opposing café tables, deep in their own thoughts.

The production opened with a monologue from the B.F.A. performance major, Hill. Through effective body language, Hill was able to convey the feeling of an overwhelmed woman, trying to preserve dead man, Gordon Gottlieb’s memory.

The audience was immediately drawn into Dani Letsche’s character of Mrs. Gottlieb, Gordon’s mother. Letsche’s ability to manipulate her voice not only created a unique identity for her character, but also captivated the audience with every appearance on stage.

As the plot began to further develop, Jean begins to fall in love with Dwight Gottlieb, played by senior B.F.A. Theatre Performance major, Cody Dericks. Dericks’ performance was the strongest and most believable of those onstage. His good-natured spirit and ability to connect with the audience proved to be his strongest asset throughout the performance.

Overall, “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” was a very enjoyable production for both the performers and the audience members. Technically the production was very well done, especially the numerous cell phone cues that were perfectly carried out. The atmosphere in the theatre was very relaxed as the audience members’ laughter filled the room throughout the performance.

Although the mood was kept light, there was a very strong message regarding cell phones projected throughout the performance.

Letsche’s reminder to the ensemble, rang true to all in attendance, and presented an interesting view towards technology,

“You’ll never walk alone because you’ll always have a machine in your pants that might ring.”