“Nickel and Dimed:" Lost in Translation at the State Theater

The biggest problem lies in the fact that the outrage and indignancy Ehrenreich felt, along with her crusading liberal zeal are lost on the stage. The character of Barbara, played extremely self-consciously by Megan Cole, comes across more as a caricature than anything. The passion with which the author wrote the book diminishes on the stage, as Cole seems completely divorced from the emotional gravitas of the subject matter. We don’t find this to be a fault of Cole’s, as there simply exists an undeniable difference between an author being able to use her words to describe her emotional and visceral response to her subject matter and the ability of a character on the stage, who is able to give us such limited insight into her mind. The modest ‘outrage’ shown by Cole on stage does not come across as genuinely believable.

The fire of the message and outrage, along with the slap-in-the-face wake-up call the book delivers is not seen here. The cast seems play acting in these vignettes which have no real teeth. The inherent problem with the enterprise rests in the fact that some stories are best told through certain mediums. This one should be left to the pages of Ms. Ehrenreich’s outstanding book.

While the Austinist vigorously supports local art and generally love the State Theater, we suggest not wasting your dollars on “Nickel and Dimed.”