Do you distinctly remember reading the Berenstein Bears books as a child, or watching the ’90s film Shazaam starring Sinbad? If so, you may need the assistance of three college roommates (Komal Patel, Sami Jo Harding and Paige Christoffers) who have discovered that their dorm stairwell sits atop a Mandela Effect-inducing split in the time-space continuum.
Deploying rap kombat and sock puppets, the trio resist their annoying resident advisor-turned-government agent (Emmitt Williams), battling for control of a multiverse-hopping Wii controller in this Scott Pilgrim-style sci-fi spoof from writers Annie Lovelock and Nic Stelter.
It may not win all the acting Oscars like Everything Everywhere All at Once, but the gutsy young cast plows through the technobabble with great go-for-broke gusto that brought even this exhausted audience member along for the ride.
Best of all, director Kassidy Pierce keeps the energy at 11 and doesn’t let the show wear out its welcome, making Shifted a smart selection if you want some stupidly nerdy fun.
Lowndes Shakespeare Center
Shifted
FAV Productions
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This article appears in Summer Guide 2023.