Theatre for Young America had a banner year. But its most intriguing artistic choice of the season was
Binky Rudich and the Space Pandas, a space odyssey written by David Mamet -- who's better known for acerbic adult plays like
Oleanna and intricate films such as
House of Games. With this play for kids, he assumed they would have adults in tow, so he added popcorn action scenes for the former and multilayered cultural references for the latter. When the titular animals are first introduced, for example, they're playing poker and wearing silver, flame-retardant capes. It was just odd enough to be wonderful.
