From a dark warehouse, Youngblood offers “An Apology”

Youngblood Theatre’s latest show, An Apology for the Course and Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening, is not precisely what it sounds like. There is an apology in this play — a poignant and heartfelt one. More importantly, though, it captures the last measurable instants of a man on the edge of eternity as he delivers an eloquent, philosophical eulogy for himself that dares to question whether a life of insignificance can, nonetheless, mean something.

It may seem like an overly ponderous question, but An Apology, written by Mickle Maher and directed by Edward Morgan, is often startlingly frank and focused by the unstoppable flow of time that pulls Faustus closer and closer to death.

The play is based upon the German legend of Faust, who makes a deal with the devil to gain absolute power in exchange for his soul. The most famous interpretation of the legend (written by Goethe) ends with Faust saved from damnation, but no such miracle is forthcoming in Maher’s work.

For a man whose existence is doomed to end in less than an hour, Faustus (played by Youngblood’s artistic director Michael Cotey) is intently focused on the “now.” He has few memories of the past, despite having had a glorious time-travelling life with the aid of his assistant, the demon Mephistopheles (Rich Gillard), and deliberately avoids reflecting upon his future. This means we only see Faustus as he is in the moment, and what he is in these last few moments is both irritated and annoyed, a combination that Cotey illustrates through an attitude of perverse cheeriness that grows more and more bitter as the play progresses.

It seems we may have a chance to learn more about Faustus’ life when he begins to tell us about his treasured diary, but we soon discover it is filled with nothing more than hatch marks, made to bar Mephistopheles from knowing Faustus’ private thoughts. It is this diary that he has come to apologize for — specifically his failure to use it to record his life and the evil he could have illuminated as a result.

It’s a strange sort of apology though, buttressed by admiration for the  inconsequential actions of life that the diary seems to represent. The juxtaposition drives home what appears to be Faustus’ one remaining puzzle: How much of what seems meaningless is actually just the opposite?

Such dense philosophy is adroitly broken up by An Apology’s more comedic moments. Cotey’s bitterly sardonic tone allows him to shift from theorizing to theatricality in instants, and Faustus’ descriptions of his last day skew toward the comedic in their own right, including his tale of a trip to the future where he stops in at a store with a “nonsense number poem” for a name — aka a 7-11.

Also helping the play steer away from its potential disintegration into a dull monologue is its location — an empty warehouse space in the Pritzlaff Building. The desolate setting is as sobering as the play’s darkest moments, although its lack of insulation means layers of clothing and at least one of the complementary blankets offered may come in handy.

If you’re interested in more patient reflection than Faustus himself, bundle up and join his final audience. It may be more meaningful than you know.

Youngblood Theatre’s An Apology… will run through June 14 at the Pritzlaff Building, 143 W. St. Paul Ave., with all shows starting at 8:30 p.m. and lasting 1 hour. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online or at the door starting at 8 p.m.