Annie Jump, a real-life, 19th century astronomer, appears as a 13-year-old girl in Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven. This world premiere closes out Renaissance Theaterworks’ “women in science” theme for this season. It is the first play Renaissance is producing as part of its Br!NK New Play Development Series.
Getting back to Annie Jump: in the play, she’s a science genius who lives in the small town of Strawberry, Kansas with a troubled father who believes in aliens. Little does he know that the image of an actual “alien” has already beamed down from a part of the universe known as the Library of Heaven. Annie (nicely played by Reese J. Parish) has been “chosen” by alternative life-forms from a distant galaxy. She is selected as one who will someday understand the big “unknowns” emanating from the cosmos. In Annie’s case, her “guide” to the universe is known as Althea, a kid of about Annie’s age who provides a lot of the show’s comic moments. Rachael Zientek plays Althea as a somewhat bratty know-it-all who has sacrificed her own future to be Annie’s “guide.” Much of her dialogue is downright hilarious.
On the flip side, Annie is very much a down-to-earth kid who misses her dead mother and worries about her father, who has barely kept custody of Annie after several incidents involving his mental health. In fact, the connection between Annie and her father, Dr. Jump (Jonathan Gillard Daly), is the key relationship throughout the entire, 75-minute play. Early in the play, Annie meets another geeky teen, KJ Urbanik (Jarrod Langwinski) who’s slightly older and completely inept when it comes to making friends. He plays a small part in a prank that has Dr. Jump expecting to meet with extra-terrestrials in the next few days. Langwinski does a masterful job of portraying a shy, lonely adolescent boy. As KJ, he admits that his role in the prank was a way to “fit in” with some of the “cool” boys at school.
Annie, however, seems surer of herself. She is curious, inquisitive, and far advanced beyond her classes in school. She has a set of keys to the science lab and nearly causes an explosion when in walks the school’s science teacher, Mrs. Gomez (Karen Estrada). Mrs. Gomez isn’t happy about Annie’s “experiment” and banishes her from the lab. However, Mrs. Gomez reappears in one of the final scenes to indicate that teachers are human, too. This bit gives Estrada a chance to show off her own finely tuned comic skills.
Playwright Reina Hardy writes with economy and authority. She is an excellent storyteller who has the audience rooting for Annie and her father throughout the production. The show focuses on adolescents and their need to “fit in,” the power of young minds to tackle some of the universe’s greatest mysteries, the sacrifices sometimes necessary to achieve one’s dreams, and the need for community.
The acting, under the direction of Pam Kriger, is fully supported by sophisticated, eye-popping graphics (scenic and lighting designer Jason Fassl, motion design by John Fischer) coupled with original composition and sound design (by Josh Schmidt).
Annie Jump makes a successful transition from staged reading to full-length production, and Renaissance Theaterworks can feel proud of its role in fostering this new work. The play is being produced in conjunction with several other theaters around the country. Following the Milwaukee world premiere, the show will travel to theaters in Washington, DC., Austin, TX and Connecticut.
