It makes sense that playwright Elizabeth Cutler has a background in improv. Her new comedy, Next Level, currently playing at DC’s Capital Fringe Festival, is structured much like an improv show.
Next Level centers on Sophie and Will, two single millennials who are just trying to go about their day when they get trapped in an elevator together. Without cell service and unsure how long they’ll be there, the two do as one would expect: They get to know each other, exploring each other’s backgrounds and, more importantly, troubles with dating in the modern era.
Rather than tell their story in one continuous scene, though, Cutler—who also plays the semi-autobiographical Sophie—splits Sophie and Will’s time in the elevator into short vignettes, jumping a little ahead in the conversation every few minutes, illustrating that they spend much longer than the 45-minute runtime stuck together.
This structure has pros and cons. On the one hand, it allows for a lot of contained, sketch-like humor—and indeed, Next Level is quite funny throughout. It also means the play gets to tackle a lot of different topics and themes in a relatively short amount of time. The scenes jump from issue to issue without bothering with filler dialogue that would be needed to transition between ideas.
On the other hand, no filler dialogue also means no skeletal dialogue, which can make Next Level’s scenes sometimes feel disjointed. It’s also clear from early on that the setup exists mainly to get Sophie to open up about her romantic struggles, which are heartfelt and complex but also stand in stark contrast to the surface-level character of Will (Jack Barnes).
Still, Next Level is a charming and funny watch with a lot of potential. I’d like to see it taken to the…well, you know.
Running Time: 55 minutes
Genre: Comedy
Dates and Times:
- July 20 at 1:00 PM
- July 21 at 2:45 PM
Venue: Goldman Theater – Theater J, 1529 16th St NW
Tickets: $15
More Info and Tickets: Next Level
The complete 2024 Capital Fringe Festival schedule is online here.
