Nicking Noodles: Overtime Theater Presents Joseph E. Green’s Einstein’s Wrong About Everything

January 4, 2022 - Northwest Side

By Jade Esteban Estrada, Co-Editor | San Antonio Sentinel

Because Albert Einstein’s intellectual achievements resulted in his surname becoming synonymous with the word genius, it’s easy to see how someone would be tempted to steal his inanimate brain. At least that’s what appears to be happening in Joseph E. Green’s Einstein’s Wrong About Everything, a new play opening Jan. 14 at the Overtime Theater.

Set in 1956, the story revolves around Thomas Harvey, a Princeton autopsist who’s presented with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to nick the noodle of Albert Einstein, one of the most famous scientists of all time. After doing so, he formulaically gets chased by both the authorities and a group of neo-Nazis.

The Overtime has a long history of presenting original plays that cater to a well-read audience, and Einstein seems to be one of these gilded offerings. Not only is Green a playwright, he is also a parapolitical researcher who specializes in information about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Both big and deep thinkers may revel in Harvey’s wild, comedic adventure as he gets help and advice from a few mid-20th-century luminaries. For starters, the protagonist’s roommate just happens to be heroin-addicted, postmodern author William S. Burroughs, who was, in real life, known for his accounts of drag culture, which he wrote about in his 1959 novel Naked Lunch.

Patrons familiar with the lives and works of midcentury thought leaders such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Eleanor Roosevelt may also thoroughly enjoy Green’s play. At first glance, these real-person-fanfiction (RPF) conversations are reminiscent of a previous Overtime Theatre production, The Meeting, Jeff Stetson’s imagined exchange between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

With more characters to experience on the stage, one can expect this theatrical ride to be thought-provoking and philosophically multifaceted.

“Einstein is not a character, but there are a few beats and at least one anti-Christ,” Green tweeted in regard to his character lineup. Some of the playwright’s other works include Dull Are the Damned, Clowntime is Over, and The Very Wrath of Love.

Promotional material for the upcoming play states: “Einstein’s Wrong About Everything may make you laugh, make you cry, make you reconsider every thought you’ve ever had since reaching the age of reason. Or not.” 

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The play stars Austin Escobedo as Harvey, Samuel Black as Ginsberg, Braden Ortmeyer as Kerouac, Meaghan Setterbo as Der Elefant, Josh Molnar as Ernst, Jeffery Hensel as Otto, Jessica Roberts as Ally, Donnie Martin as Bruno, Kurt Wilkinson as Groucho Marx, Ida Steele as Roosevelt, and Christopher Champlin as English occultist Aleister Crowley. Speaking of the one-time “wickedest man in the world,” Green’s Twitter following was 666 at publication time, which some readers may find darkly amusing.

Former KTSA radio producer Kodi Kareem has returned to the Overtime to direct. 

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Jan. 14-Feb. 5. The Overtime Theater is located at 5409 Bandera Road, Suite 205. Tickets can be purchased here.

Jade Esteban Estrada is a co-editor for the San Antonio Sentinel, where he covers public health and other citywide issues. jade@sasentinel.com | Twitter: @satx_writer