Hell Money- Do you burn your money?

Imagine sitting in your friend's loft with a group of your closest friends and being privy to a play conducted right in front of you. That's how it feels attending Hell Money, a play written by Ruth McKee and put on by Chalk Repertory at the Agenda Lofts in downtown LA. The setting is cozy and unique--there is a kitchen, table, bed and TV which comprise the set props. Chairs line the edges of the room, making you feel like you have a front row seat to the unfolding secrets of someone's personal life. Those personal lives belong to Katie (played by Elia Saldana) and Julie (played by Jennifer Chang). Katie and Julie just graduated from the foster system and are on 'the up and up', as Julie has big plans for their lives--they are going to college, will have careers and work their way toward 'success'. Julie's one big rule is NO boys and no sex--two things that could derail her carefully laid plans for their futures. Katie, an incurable sleepwalker, finds out she is pregnant (after a series of bizarre circumstances lead her to steal an ultrasound machine) and concludes she sleep-sexed someone.

Set of Hell Money

The play is witty and hilarious, a modern comedy of errors that spin Julie and Katie on life's merry-go-round, believing they are chasing something worthwhile, while never escaping their own centripetal force. Julie sticks to hard and fast rules in order to cling to something solid amid the anarchy that is life, while Katie is the free-spirited companion along for the ride, who grows tired of the rules and Julie's quest for a career. Julie and Katie are polar opposites; Julie the rational thinker, while Katie is the 'go-where-the-wind-blows' character. Their interplay makes for funny dialogue and Elia's quirkiness played through Katie leaves the room laughing. Julie receives a package delivered by their neighbor Norman (played by Ewan Chung), who is the typical nice guy next-door. One of my biggest laughs was when Katie attempts to use the ultrasound machine on Norman's stomach to compare it to her image on the screen. Norman's freak-out when they realize she is pregnant is realistic- his flustered, floundering nature and red face is hilarious.

Burl, Jennifer, Elia and Ewan

Tony (played by Burl Moseley) is a Nigerian trying to make his way through college at USC as a small-time drug dealer (of the oxycodone and adderall variety). After he is stabbed by some steroid-deprived lacrosse players, Tony staggers into the apartment and circuitously reveals that he and Katie slept together (she was the one doing the sleeping). The scene between Katie and Tony is memorable and witty, the wounded warrior and the unwitting participant, the world jostled and turned on its head; neither knowing what they truly want from life. Meanwhile, Julie and Norman are burning the betwixt 'Hell Money' sent to Julie by her grandmother and the smoke pours into the apartment, as all goes awry. The play was a delight to watch, the characters are close and interact well, while the ambiance is intimate. When one person laughs, the room laughs together.


Hell Money is playing at the Agenda Loft downtown through April 24th.