INTERVIEW: In this new play, Dick and Jane meet a cat in a hat. Let’s discuss.
Photo: Robert Leverett is the playwright of We Do the Same Thing Every Week. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Emily Owens PR with permission.
Kicking off tonight, May 2, A.R.T./New York Theatres will host a new surreal comedy called We Do the Same Thing Every Week, a show somewhat inspired by Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat. In this version, the two main characters are Dick and Jane, and they can’t get out of their weekly Sunday slump. It’s the same old routine each and every week; that is, until a giant cat in a hat appears and shakes things up.
The new play, which continues performances through May 17, is the brainchild of playwright Robert Leverett, with direction by Liza Couser. The whole enterprise is brought to the New York theater scene courtesy of Attractive Nuisance. Ultimately the one-act comedy proves to be a commentary on boredom, repetition and Coca-Cola, according to press notes.
Recently Leverett exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox to talk about the new show. His recent credits, whether as an actor or writer, include Katie Laid an Eggy with Prototype 237, Depresh Mode with Evolution Festival, MEAT with The Tank, Tracy Triceratops and the End of History with VoxLab and [cowboy face] at Dixon Place, according to his official biography. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Would you call this a parody of Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat? Or is it just inspired by that children’s tale?
Definitely inspired! Though, of course, all characters and plot elements are legally distinct from those featured in The Cat in the Hat. Like the blurb says, the show is about boredom and repetition, and the setup of a rainy day interrupted by a chaotic and possibly-magical entertainer seemed like a good jumping off point for exploring those themes. Also, reference is present throughout the show, and I wanted the central one to be nearly universal for U.S. audiences. I wouldn’t say the show is an outright parody, and it’s certainly not a straightforward adaptation. But we do have some fun invoking the children’s book when we can. Just don’t expect a lot of rhyming.
What do you find interesting about the theme of repetition in one’s life?
I like incorporating things that feel anti-dramatic or anti-climactic. I think life is proportionally a lot more repetitive minutiae than it is seismic, life-altering events, so I like writing plays that reflect that. I started writing this play in January of 2022, which was, of course, two years into a global pandemic. I was accidentally home in small-town Georgia for much of 2020, spending a lot of time with my parents and their dog and even more time alone while they were at work. I know a lot of people started new hobbies or had huge personal realizations during the first year of the pandemic, but that was not my experience. I slept in my childhood bedroom, played many hours of Animal Crossing and ate Bojangles chicken biscuits multiple times a week.
Do you find yourself doing the same thing every Sunday (or any other day of the week)? Has boredom ever taken over?
My day job’s schedule is a little all over the place, so the day of the week is less relevant for me than others. But if given the chance, I’m a creature of immediate habit. As a child, I think I found Sundays difficult to enjoy. It felt like a lot of pressure to do something fun, which felt impossible with the weight of the school week hanging over me. I think a lot of my Sundays were boredom punctuated by anxiety related to wasting my Sunday on being bored. Now, I experience boredom differently. It’s much more manic. I don’t know if that’s the inevitable consequence of becoming an adult with more responsibilities and an accelerated sense of the passage of time, or if it’s the inevitable consequence of carrying a tiny computer around with me 24/7 and having a Hulu account.
How would you describe the characters of Dick and Jane?
Dick and Jane are named after the siblings from the Fun with Dick and Jane series of primers, which were very popular until The Cat in the Hat arrived on the scene and absolutely devoured Fun with Dick and Jane’s early-childhood-literacy lunch. That real-world rivalry informs their relationship with the Cat in the play. They are very polite, but subtly antagonistic. Their formality serves as a screen for some of their darker impulses. Most importantly, they are quite difficult to impress.
How are puppets used in the show? Is the Cat a puppet?
Two of the supporting characters, The Things, are puppets. They get a musical number. They were designed by the incredible Olivia Hern, and I can’t wait for everyone to meet the weird little freaks she made for us. Olivia also made a handful of other puppets for some small moments in the show, but I’m excited for audiences to experience those fresh. Plot spoilers are the cost of doing business, but puppet spoilers are unforgivable. No Cat puppet, unfortunately. Sometimes, theater is about knowing what the audience wants and refusing to give it to them.
Pepsi or Coca-Cola? Why?
Coca-Cola, and it’s not even close. As I mentioned, I’m from Georgia, so even if that weren’t my sincerely held belief, I would never be allowed to return if I chose Pepsi. It’s probably just because it’s what I’m used to, but my second guess is better proprietary font.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
We Do the Same Thing Every Week, written by Robert Leverett, plays May 2-17 at A.R.T./New York Theatres in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
