Nothing is More: a High Black Comedy in Verse with Music for Six Actors - Book Review

Nothing is More by Dolly Gray Landon is an outlandish play, consisting of six main characters, that takes place at Pimpleton State Luniversity. Yes, we did spell university “Luniversity,” and, in fact, many words in the play are cleverly altered to better fit the play’s theme and bring clarity to the emotions or perspective of the moment. The main protagonist is a character by the name of Phangbang Bonation who is an adherent to “Nadaism,” an artistic and philosophical counterculture experiment that discards all contemporary culture and politics. The true adherents to this movement even had their Nadaist Manifesto read from a roll of toilet paper by poet Gonzalo Arango. Phangbang Bonation has revived this artistic movement with his minimalist artistry that consists of nothing. Yes, he offers nothing, much like some of the new music offerings that are foisted on today’s masses that lack instrumentation or talented vocalists. Like real life, Bonation’s illusory works are extolled by the critics and lauded by the masses. The praise and notoriety he receives for his nonexistent work disturbs Pelvin Penisovich and Purvel Schlignatz, his stool degree candidate contemporaries. Phangbang Bonation is also guilty of frivolously stealing the hearts of the girlfriends of Pelvin and Purvel, adding to their angst. Bonation’s actions prompt the two to join together in a plot to expose Bonation as a fraud. How do they go about this task and are they successful…?

The play is BIG; estimated time for the production is six hours. Landon provides music scores that are written to play as an accompaniment to the reading of his play and has produced numerous pieces that are available on YouTube that would be played during the actual production.  One piece is called “Pornomusik” (Op. 48). It is a piece with discordant sounds woven into the music. You hear a dog barking and various voices, some using expletives. Landon’s music is as avant-garde as his writing. This six-act play is a bit bawdy and often is making fun of numerous beliefs and customs that society foolishly embraces.

There is a great deal of poetry in the words Landon delivers in his work. An example of such is:
’Tis a virtual quest for the Holy Grail.
I study the telltale behavioral signs
Inclutters of cute, cuddly young felines
To ascertain which sex has the stoutest of spines.
’Tis the tarnal question of what makes the female versus the male...and then some.
My experiments have shown an incontestably conclusive outcome.
Namely: by reversing the sexual role-playing patterns in nubile young pussies,
I've managed to demonstrate, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that male cats are the wussies.
Suffice it to say that these rigorous experiments
Involve a level of complexity.
Such that my tempts to expound them to thee
Would only ingrowth thy perplexity.

It’s obvious from the sample above, that Landon has a fondness for the use of some archaic words like “tarnal,” to embellish his play. In fact, much of the verbiage used, such as “tarnal,” gives the play a ring of a piece from the 18th century but at the same time addresses contemporary issues. Landon has penned another enormous and somewhat complicated theatric treat that once again showcases his brilliance.