What’s It All About?

Five playgoers tell Calendar what they think “Kingfish” really means.

JACK TOGGENBURGER

It took me awhile to figure out what they were setting up. But yes, I did like it. And I think I got it. For me, it was about an old man dying. I look for entertainment--and this kept my mind active, I didn’t fall asleep. That’s my criteria for a good play.

JESSIE BLACKSMITH

I thought the message came through really clear: Things are how you perceive them. It was like a Chinese puzzle, each of the characters playing through it differently, strangely. I laughed a lot--it was very funny. But it’s definitely the downside of life.

ERIC LADDEY

I think it was a little obscure, a little oblique. Did I get it? I guess not. But I think it was talking about a generalized situation in which people find themselves trapped by the condition of their lives--and it was probably quite an accurate perception of that. As my wife said, “It ain’t Shakespeare, but it’s fun.”

PAULA SVETLECICH

I loved it--this is my second time seeing it. What I picked up off of it was that people create their own reality: that the way you treat people is the way people treat you. If you treat them badly, they’ll treat you badly. The whole “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you” thing.

VALERIE GOTT

I think it painted an uncomfortably witty picture of the uncomfortable human condition. And each of the actors punctuated and underlined that. Did I think it was too weird? No. I liked it very much. And beyond that, I really believed that the black box was a dog.