Routine Magic/Magic Routine is a double feature that examines how routines can either entrap or free us. The sparse set, lighting, and music allow Frances Steinberg’s words and Rebecca Parker and Barnaby Olson’s acting to take focus. Unfortunately, elements in each play diminish the intended impact.

In Routine Magic, Olson expertly vacillates between controlled and chaotic as Aloysius, a man whose obsessive-compulsive disorder manifests itself in his literally shutting himself out of the world, safe in his routines. Olson’s bursts of rapid-fire monologue, coupled with moments of restraint and release, make for a dynamic and compelling performance.

Rebecca Parker, as psychiatrist Sarah Cohen, reveals deep levels of empathy in her acting even though she is never face-to-face with Aloysius. Her American accent, however, is distracting – belonging more to Adelaide in Guys and Dolls than to modern day women from New York. The monologues are beautiful but not written as people naturally speak, and the magic realism forces the plot forward where a gradual lowering of defenses would deliver an equally powerful result.

Magic Routine begins promisingly. Parker is backlit from atop the stage as Olson is passed out on a coffee table below. I am anticipating a guardian angel/life after death scenario. The magic ends there, sadly, as we meander down multiple storylines that have no conclusion: an absent father who may or may not exist; an unexplained relationship between new-age guardian Kami (Parker) and said absent father; social media influencer Anthony ‘Ant’ Hill (Olson) as a possible accessory to murder?

Kami, though meant to guide Ant to enlightenment, treats him with contempt and snarkily undercuts his life choices at every turn, making me doubt her character has actually reached inner peace. Ant never once livestreams or talks to his 19 million followers about his experience, despite the fact that “being visited by a ghost who knows my dad” would be the ultimate clickbait.

Though Olson and Parker do a fine job within the constraints of the text, the fact that Steinberg dedicates the bulk of the piece lambasting social media without showing Ant actually using it or exploring his motivations leaves me feeling lectured at and empty.

Magic Routine/Routine Magic could be better served by removing the gimmicks of magic and instead revealing the magic that happens when characters connect on a deeper level. For now, the pieces are mostly routine with moments of magic.

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