Stuck in an Elevator With Patrick Stewart is another recorded show from a previous Fringe Festival, in this case 2013. If you’re a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation you should find this very entertaining, if you are not a fan you probably will as well. Much like The Scranton Strangler: An Office Musical as enjoyable as the video of this is, it does make you long to see it in person. I hope this is something I’ll get a chance to see performed live some day. The play takes place at a Science Fiction Convention between the first and second seasons of ST:TNG. Patrick Stewart has gotten word that they are moving forward with the second season and in all likelihood will be exercising their option on his 6 year contract. Because of this he will have to turn down the lead in Richard III on stage, a role he has always wanted to play. In this foul mood, and seeing ST:TNG more as a curse than a blessing he loses patience with the fans lining up for autographs and the questions they ask him, eventually storming off. He ends up in an elevator with Daniel, his biggest fan. As the title foreshadows, the elevator gets stuck. Patrick over the course of their entrapment learns the true meaning of Star Trek from Daniel.
What is really smart about the script is the way it weaves true autobiographical information into the play. The parallels it illustrates between the fandom and escapism that Patrick at first ridicules with the way he coped with similar situation when he was young. More than once Stewart judges the books by their covers and makes assumptions about the people who are Trekkers only to be surprised by the realities. He tells Daniel he should read more than stupid tie-in Star Trek novels only to be surprised to learn that he read A Tale of Two Cities not long ago. There are many other examples like this and playwright Brandon Taitt does a skillful job of working all of these little aha! moments into the dialogue naturally. I was surprised by a subtlety I did not expect from such a high concept play that is only one hour long. There is quite a lot going on in this play, it’s entertaining and funny, but there is also some real food for thought, but it wisely lets that breathe rather than hammering it home. George M. Calger plays Patrick Stewart and he does a good job, but I felt there was room for a closer interpretation. It’s always difficult to play an extremely famous person. A impression is not the right approach, but I do think you want to try and capture their mannerisms and vocal work as closely as you can. It felt like some of those subtler mannerisms could have helped the illusion more. Brandon Caviness plays Daniel and he does a really nice job. He embodies the Fanboy, but shows us the person underneath that is all too easy to dismiss, he’s a fully rounded out character, again a tough thing to pull off in a short play. I really recommend this one.
The Stages of MN 
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