Northern Michigan University Theatre and Dance will stage Ctrl+Alt+Delete, a darkly comic look at tech startups, speculative investment, and the value we assign to ideas in a rapidly evolving economy. The production runs Oct. 30–Nov. 2 and Nov. 6–9 in NMU's Panowski Black Box Theatre.
Set during the tech boom of the late 1990s, Ctrl+Alt+Delete follows wunderkind Eddie Fisker, a young tech developer who teams up with a visionary entrepreneur to launch a revolutionary new app. As the startup gains traction, the team becomes increasingly disconnected from the ethical and real-world consequences of their creation. What begins as a promising tech venture quickly spirals into a chaotic satire of modern business culture.
“This is more a play about funny money than technology itself,” said director Jimmy Ludwig, who starred in the leading role in the play's original East Coast premiere. “It's really all about how we create and assign value, and how the power of belief can literally create wealth. The dot-com era saw an ability to generate wealth that outpaced anything we'd seen before. This play explores the difference between selling a product and selling potential. If you're selling a product, you're a sitting duck. It can fail, break, get old. But if you're selling the idea of something, the whole blue sky is the limit.”
Ludwig calls the show especially timely in today's world of cryptocurrency. The play's themes reflect cycles seen throughout economic history.
“We've turned this cast into economists,” Ludwig said. “We looked at every bubble in history, from the Dutch tulip craze to the 1929 crash. Our entire economy is built on speculation. Every time it happens, someone at the top says, ‘This is fine.' Until someone else finally says, ‘This is actually built on nothing.'”
Ludwig said a subplot, which he doesn't want to disclose as a spoiler, provides great comic relief.
“It is a very fast-paced play that really crackles,” he added. “We're doing a lot of fun stuff with technology for this production. There will actually be what we're calling the Jumbotron: four screens that face each bank of seats in the round, with five cameras positioned all around the space. That way the audience gets to be in this proscenium and see moments where the actors are facing away from them.”
Showtimes are 7:30 nightly with an additional 1 p.m. matinee on Nov. 8 and a sensory-friendly, “pay what you can” Theatre for All matinee at 1 p.m. on Nov. 1. Tickets are $25 for the general public; $22 for NMU faculty/staff, seniors 60+ and military; $15 for youth under 18; and $5 for NMU students. They can be purchased at nmu.universitytickets.com.
For more details on the production, visit nmu.edu/theatreanddance/ctrlaltdelete.