Continuity

What is the hope for continued existence in a world of disaster and increasing chaos? Such is the question at the heart of Wohl’s (Small Mouth Sounds) “play in six takes,” which is a serious reflection on the future of climate change and a farcical send-up of Hollywood filmmaking. Harrowed director Maria (narrated by Liza Weil) and her film crew struggle to coax three alternately frustrating and frustrated actors through their performances during the climactic scene of a tottering ecoterrorism-themed blockbuster. Characters quickly fall into tired clichés, both on and off camera—the demanding diva (narrated by Sarah Drew), the empty-headed muscleman (narrated by Johnny Berchtold), the prickly thespian (narrated by Bukola Ogunmola)—with tensions threatening the production and Maria’s career. Add a script-doctor ex (narrated by Seamus Dever) and a wet-blanket science consultant (narrated by Stephen Tobolowsky, a bit-player standout), and listeners are left with a grim portrait of the future, for the movie as well as the planet.