★★★★ BANG reviews are as rare as Tralfamadorian Hen's Teeth. San Francisco Theater Blog holds them back for spectacular performances, with actual plots and character development and glorious staging and amazing music. Word For Word's "Absolutely Science Fiction" has little of this. So, a rating this good? How come?
Because these two stories are Word For Word at its finest. They made me laugh out loud and snuffle through my nose, along with the rest of the audience, a true rarity these days. Consider that Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" was written in 1950 and Kurt Vonnegut's "The Big Space Fuck" in 1979, and yet both describe our present-day technological terror with stinging accuracy. The house that does all the work, thereby eliminating the need for parents (Bradbury) and the American Space Craft launched into space with its nose cone crammed full of 800 pounds of freeze-dried Jizzum (finally, an acceptable spelling)...OK, a tad paranoid, perhaps, but focus for one moment on Elon Musk's eyes and nothing feels beyond the range of possibility.
The production opens with "The Veldt." We hear the lions coming. We know what those kids are going to do. We know Ryan Tasker should not allow his children (Christian Jimenez and Hannah Mae Sturges) back into the nursery. Naive Mom (Nicole Odell) and authoritarian Dad (Tasker) are not going to appreciate what's coming. Perhaps they should listen to the author when he says..."the sun - he could feel it on his neck like a hot paw."
"The Veldt" is terrific. But "The Big Space Fuck" is the funniest thing we've seen all year. Belly Laughs. Grunts. Guffaws. Grace Hoobler (Sturges) has the best midwestern accent. The government is offering either a table lamp or a kitchen scale to all women willing to abort their pregnancies. Grace has taken three lamps and a scale.
Dwayne Hoobler (Jimenez) has not been allowed to contribute to the Jizzum supply due to his minimal i.q. Giant lamprey eels are threatening to eat everyone anyway, so maybe it wouldn't matter.
Joel Mullennix is an excellent Senator Snopes from Mississippi and let's not forget Nicole Odell's fabulous red-wigged mom, who is ..."sure there's something weird going on, George."
My Fellow Americans, we all need to laugh. Consider this my gift to you, in lieu of any request for contribution to the nose cone. Go see this show.
RATINGS: ★★★★ BANG
The San Francisco Theater Blog's Great Lakes Awards Division, headed by Dr. Lamprey, grants FOUR STARS with a BANGLE OF PRAISE to Word For Word's "Absolutely Science Fiction!" Word for Word always works best with comedy. They banged it right on the nose this time.
"Word For Word: "Absolutely Science Fiction!"
Z-Space Below
450 Florida St., San Francisco
Through July 19, 2026
$50-$75
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