by Sarah Ruhl

A dead man. An empty bowl of lobster bisque. Some scribbled messages. A ringing cell phone. Is this a crime scene or the opening of Sarah Ruhl's oddball comedy Dead Man's Cell Phone? If you answered the latter, you're right. Now…answer the call and experience this quirky play hailed by critics as "beguiling" -New York Times, "wondrously mad and moving" -Variety, "amusing and thoroughly fearless" - Chicago Tribune, "must-see art…one helluva a ride" -Miami Herald.

Jean, a mild-mannered museum worker, is sitting peacefully in a café when a cell phone rings... and rings...and rings. When she discovers the phone's owner (Gordon) is dead, she does something extraordinary: she answers the call! Soon, she finds herself at Gordon's funeral and enmeshed in the lives of his eccentric family. By holding the torch of his memory alive for loved ones, - and holding onto his phone - Jean is soon burdened with the task of creating "confabulations" for Gordon. But how long can she keep up with these loving (yet comical) fabrications? And how many calls is she willing to take?

Soon, Gordon's secret past is revealed, bringing Jean face to face with a strange woman in a trench coat, a mysterious caller, and a surreal trip to an airport in Johannesburg that leads to a cosmic pipeline! In the midst of this, she becomes grief counselor to Mrs. Gottlieb, Gordon's domineering mother who turns to rare steak for comfort; confidant to Hermia, Gordon's widow who gets sloshed on cosmopolitans and confesses a little too much; and love interest to Dwight, Gordon's romantic brother who favors handwriting over texting.

What does Jean's future hold and how does Gordon's past merge with it? Look for the answers amidst kung-fu fighting, floating paper houses, a cell phone ballet and requited love! Under the "spell" of Lauren Caldwell, the enchanting cast includes popular company members Tim Altmeyer as Gordon, Sara Morsey as Mrs. Gottlieb, Matt Lindsay as Dwight (recently seen in A Tuna Christmas), Jessica Morris as Hermia (last seen in The Dead Guy), and UF graduate students Nichole Hamilton as Jean and Teniece Johnson as The Stranger/Other Woman.

Dead Man's Cell Phone is one "ring-a-ding" treat in our incessantly ringing world. This is one cosmic call you don't want to miss!

Recommendation: While younger theatre-goers will be amused by the cell phone as a sort of character, they may miss the deeper themes and subtleties that will be understood best by high school students and above.

Advisory: Contains occasional use of profanity and some sexual content.