Welcome to Camp Dusty Tread!
In summer-camp style, Natalie Copeland’s Rovers! takes its audience, Mars’ newest rover, on a night-long orientation to the red planet. Rovers! is cute and charming with lots of Martian spins on classic camp activities like sing-alongs, ghost stories, and lessons from more experienced Mars rovers like Spirit and Opportunity, the head counselors.
Every character, with the exception of the newest rovers (the audience and ALISCE, played by Minna Lee) were based on real Mars rovers still on the planet’s surface. The “more successful” rovers, like Curiosity, had big egos and the rovers with completed missions struggled to find a new purpose in their existence. This personification that brought the rovers to life was clever. Curiosity was hip and trendy and by far the most concerned with social media whereas Sojourner, one of the older rovers, was teeming with wisdom from the many years spent on Mars, roaming without a mission.
Most of play’s action stemmed from the rovers sharing the different experiences on Mars. Sometimes this storytelling resulted in a musical number, which is where Vikings 1 and 2 came in. The oldest of the Mars rovers were appropriately the least mobile and opted to spend their time singing and writing songs about their existential dread. The Vikings, played by Nick Schell and Heidi Cheyenne, were talented musicians and my personal favorite part of the play. They brought a folksy tune and a retro vibe to Camp Dusty Tread which helped to develop a barren, Wild West type, ambiance.
I also appreciated how well-researched the play felt. Many of the play’s jokes and activities stemmed from Copeland’s impressive familiarity with NASA’s different missions and pursuits on Mars. Her attention to detail did not go unnoticed.
As a whole, Rovers! was lighthearted and entertaining from beginning to end. The Vikings provided a darker, heavier contrast to the cheery skits and bits the other rovers performed. They were able to add depth to the feelings of the other rovers and became known to thrown in existential lines like “we are the product of countless random accidents.” Although very kid friendly, Rovers! does offer a little something for all ages.
Rovers! is a very interactive play and the Annex Theatre tends to draw a fun spirited crowd, making the performance even more fun to observe. Rovers! runs through the 15th so get your tickets now!
Rovers! Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike, Seattle 98122 (corner of 11th Ave E and E. Pike-Pike/Pine corridor, Capitol Hill) July 31 thru August 15. Tickets: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/34841