Dr. L. Jan Eira

MD Writer delivers a good series of short plays

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By John Lyle Belden

It takes a sharp mind to become a doctor, especially a cardiologist. For Dr. Louis Janeira, add sharp wit and storytelling skill and you’ve got the prescription for a promising side gig as a writer.

As L. Jan Eira, the MD Writer, he presents “Cut Short: A series of 10-minute plays,” under the direction of Aaron Henze, at The Cat in downtown Carmel.

The talented cast of Craig Kemp, Barbara LeMay, Ian Marshall-Fisher, Greta Shambarger, and Afton Shepard take on a series of shorts that play out like the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits with a touch of gentle humor – though not all end happily.

The opening scene, “If everyone on earth dies, I can’t graduate,” sets the tone that things aren’t always as they seem, and the odd will be commonplace. I had previously seen the “Party Shoppe,” a sharp piece of science fiction that was the best part of a longer work presented at IndyFringe. Even when you can tell what’s going on, like going “Home” with Mr. H, the story still grips you with its simple drama. Naturally, the medical profession makes a couple of appearances, including one bit that takes “physician, heal thyself” in an interesting and fun direction.

Entertaining, intriguing, and well performed, this series showcases local talent in splendid fashion. Remaining performances are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way (just south of Main Street in the Carmel Arts and Design District). Get info and tickets at theMDwriter.com or thecat.biz.

Death stalks doctors in ‘Ambush’

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By John Lyle Belden

Both a parent’s and a physician’s worst nightmare: A young person is dying, and it seems no one can stop it. This is at the heart of the medical mystery thriller “The Ambush,” on stage at The Cat in Carmel. The play is by Dr. L. Jan Eira, a local cardiologist whose work as a playwright has been seen from IndyFringe to Off-Off-Broadway, and directed by Aaron Henze.

It seemed odd, but not too suspicious at first. The Zionsville (Ind.) High School soccer team is invited to a pre-season exhibition at Danville, Ill. Zionsville Police Detective Ben Sinclair (T.J. O’Neil) and his wife, research scientist Dr. Amy Sinclair (Stephanie Riley), accompany their son, a member of the team. At the game, the boy suddenly collapses, and at the hospital his parents learn the awful truth – it was deliberate poisoning with a neurotoxin, and if an antidote isn’t found or created, he will soon die.

The couple discover other coincidences: There is a research facility at the hospital, much like the one where Amy works, headed by Dr. Miranda Phillips (Tanya Rave), daughter of Amy’s past colleague and friend, Dr. Terri Phillips (Wendy Brown), who recently retired. Miranda is assisted by wheelchair-bound Dr. Jack Stevenson (Adam K Allen). In addition, Danville Police Lieutenant Lela Rose (Jessica Hawkins) and Detective Rubin (Josh Rooks) inform them there have been a series of brutal murders, all involving the use of neurotoxin. As ICU Dr. Jenner (Miranda Lila Jean Nickerson) informs them that the boy’s condition is worsening fast, all understand they are in a race against time to find both a cure and a killer!

Eira combines his medical knowledge with love of a mystery to create a plot similar to the many action-mystery dramas we see on television. My impression was that this was like a blend of “House M.D.” and CBS’s “FBI” series, with a hefty dose of melodrama as the tension ramps up.

O’Neill gives us a furious combination of angry father and impatient cop that would be right at home in a “Lethal Weapon” film, but his maverick ways get results – and a lot of (to be honest, appropriate) pushback from Hawkins’ Lt. Rose, who plays it cool and professional throughout. Riley has a lot to work with in her role, feeling desperate at possibly losing her son and guilty at the possibility this is someone’s way of getting back at her for a perceived past slight. When the killer is revealed, we get some scenes of “boo-hiss”-worthy evil before our heroes prevail.

There is also a theme of faith and its power to salve or solve, as well as personal sacrifice.

Remaining performances are Friday through Sunday, July 8-10, at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel. Get info and tickets at themdwriter.com.

IndyFringe: The Last Man

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This show is part of the 15th Annual Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, a/k/a IndyFringe, Aug. 15-25, 2019 on Mass Ave downtown. Info, etc., at www.IndyFringe.org.

By John Lyle Belden

This sci-fi drama starts out strong, taking us down a path of eerie possibilities. 

Colin (Craig Kemp) runs into The Party Shop at a local mall, where the cheerful clerk, Delta (Caity Withers) hardly notices that his clothes are torn and he is stained with blood and grime. He insists on having some of the water and snacks from the shop, but, “Sorry sir, that’s for customers, only,” she smiles. So he says he wants to plan a party, Christmas in August, and he tells her a story of advances in Artificial Intelligence and Nanotechnology. And how in the 22nd century, out of nostalgia people built shopping malls that echoed the 20th century. And how there were AI “people” that were so convincing, not even they could recognize they weren’t human.

“That’s silly,” Delta says with a perfectly happy and helpful face.

Back in the 21st century, Erica (Alfton Shepard), a Professor of Advanced Nanotechnology, has recruited a couple of promising students, Charlie (Claire Shutters) and Bill (Manny Casillas) to help her with her next breakthrough. First, she is in need of emergency heart-valve surgery, and Dr. Toowan (Steve Jerk) assures her that the odds of failure are extremely low — but a phone message from the future is insisting she not go through with it, and that the fate of the world is at stake!

Local doctor and author L. Jan Eira panned this little thriller, which features some tech that is only a couple of breakthroughs away, and even temporal tinkering that acknowledges “time travel” has its limits. Hardcore sci-fi fans may recognize the plot beats, but it is kinda fun to play “spot the replicant.”

The acting is great, but this script really needed two full acts to explore its potential. The dynamite opening scene is followed by some good ones; then a rushed climax to a chunk of closing exposition. But it’s an interesting story nonetheless. Don’t let its weakness stop you; Fringe tickets are inexpensive, and you can say you saw it first when this story gets a bigger, better treatment — later in the 21st century.

Performances are today and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 21-22 & 24-25), by the Indiana Firefighters Museum at 748 Massachusetts Ave.