THE HARVESTER by Paul Van Dyck. Factory Studio. July 4 at 7 pm, July 6 at 11 pm, July 8 at 5:15 pm, July 9 at 9:45 pm. Buy tickets. Rating: NNN
Paul Van Dyck’s well-produced sci-fi play is set in a future where people have learned to extract life-extending “Liquid Time” from the elements. Overpopulation and drained resources have left the earth a lifeless desert. A lone harvester of the substance (Daniel Pagett) continues his work, but an unexpected visitor (Chloé Sullivan) urges him to stop.
Wrapped in pseudo-scientific jargon lies a melodrama with the age-old moral that death is what makes life precious. The show would have greater impact if the performance by the normally dependable Pagett were as strong in emotion and presence as that by the impressive Sullivan.