“Not to be Forgotten”

[rating=4] How did we live before the internet? I often think back to my teen years and how we interacted with each other. Not just the teens, but their parents as well. Sure, there was gossip, but not anything compared to the scope of this today. With the internet and social media, everything we do is broadcast to everyone we know. While some might see this as a wonderful thing, I am sure that many people feel that they wish it did not exist. We all saw what happened in “Dear Evan Hansen” and now in Sharyn Rothstein’s “Right to be Forgotten” having its Chicago Premiere at The Raven Theatre, we get a look at a story ( sans music) that shows the ups and downs of social media and the internet, in general.

Derril Lark ( played to perfection by Adam Shalzi) is a young “nerdy” man who is struggling with his life. At the very outset of the play, he is on a computer date, meeting Sarita ( Kelsey Elyse Rodriguez) for the first time. They seem to click so he decides to open up and tell her that on his profile, he used a fake name and then proceeds to tell her that as a teen he got in trouble. He further explains that he did not commit a crime, per se, but he had a crush on a classmate, and followed her around. He was considered a “stalker” and along the way, with the assistance of the internet and social media, it became magnified, making his life unbearable.

 All he wants to do is have this portion of his life erased. Let it be forgotten. But can it? Will they let him?He decides, in order to have a real life and be able to have a relationship, he needs to hire a lawyer and sue the people who control the internet. His idea is to find a lawyer willing to do this on a pro bono ( no fee) basis as it will make headlines and make that lawyer very much in demand. The attorney he hires  is Marta Lee ( Susaan Jamshidi is terrific in this powerful role). As it turns out, one of her college classmates ( and a friend)  Annie ( Lucy Carapetyan) is working with and for the people with the power and so we see some great friction between these two. What is right? What is wrong?

Marta and Derril get a politician involved. Attorney General Alvaro Santos ( not to be confused with anyone of note today with that last name, played by Kroydell Galima) who as it turns out is a married man, but is having a “thing” with Annie. There is some blackmail in play here and each party trying to get the other to back down.

Meanwhile, they feel that if they can get the young lady, Eve ( deftly handled by Jamila Tyler) to forgive her “stalker”, perhaps this can end satisfactorily for our young “nerd” and he can go on with life. There are some great surprises along the way, with twists and turns that will have you unsure of how this will all turn out, but under the sharp direction of Sarah Gitenstein, we do see a sort of happy ending. The “tech” peole have the power and connections. The “nerd” not so, and as the story evolves, you will see some things that are not factual, but make the story work.

Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s set is plain and very practical for this story. White walls that serve as screens for the many e-mails and postings we see (projections by Reese Craig and Liviu Pasare). The background music composed by Eric Backus ( who also did the sound design) is quite fitting to telling the story, and the lighting (Liz Gomes) is starkly beautiful. Finnegan Chu’s costumes are well done and the props by Ivy Treccani are just right.

We all know the expression “Big Brother is watching you” and many ask “why?” Shouldn’t we have the right to take down misinformation about our lives? Mistakes happen! There should be a remedy. This story explores just how powerful the internet can be when it comes to our lives.

“Right to be Forgotten” Will continue thru March 26th with performances as follows: