Over the past few weeks, I've finally been able to put a name to a trend in contemporary American theater that had previously eluded me. It seems that there are an increasing number of plays which are enjoyable and diverting to watch, but which leave little to no profound effect on the soul—which is why I've named these plays "fast food theater" (replace "watch" and "soul" with "eat" and "hunger" and you'll see what I mean).

What prompted this sudden realization? I see a lot of plays a year—last Sunday marked my 66th of the calendar year—so what prompted me to come to this conclusion now? It was actually seeing two shows at the usually-impressive Center Theatre Group recently. While both "November" and "Seminar" were fun, neither made much of an impression on me.

As a critic, or for me at least, seeing a forgettable show is one of the most disappointing experiences. I go in wanting every show I see to be wonderful and soul-changing. Sometimes they are, and I feel a sense of enlightenment, or like I've been granted a new perspective on the world. Sometimes, they don't, and the show is just plain bad—but usually, I can find something specific that can be fixed. Unfortunately, though, there is no fix for unmemorable.

But there are plenty of unmemorable-but-pleasant media, so why do I take issue with theater behaving in a similar manner to the vast majority of film and television? Well, for one, while there is a lot of new theater being produced annually, when compared to film and TV, theater is practically a stagnant field. Because there is just so much more being produced in film and TV, for me at least, it's almost expected that there would be a lot of mediocrity in those fields—more products, less quality control and all that. But with plays and musicals, because there are comparatively so few things being produced each year, it seems like the shows that end up being produced by larger theater companies and off- and on Broadway should be pretty damn amazing.

There's also a sense of getting one's money's worth. Most of the time, a ticket to a show at a large theater company or on Broadway is anywhere between four and twenty times the price of a movie ticket. When you're paying $15, it's still disappointing to see a bad movie, but when you pay $60-$300 (or more), it becomes infuriating to see a less-than-stellar final product.

I won't lie; I put theater up on a pedestal. But I think it's a pedestal that theater should deserve to be on. There is something so amazing, so electric, so visceral about seeing a good live performance, about being in the presence of a powerful story being told. Theater has the power to truly affect its audience and incite a desire for change in the world—be it on a macro or micro level.

So I've had enough of fast food theater, and you should be fed up with it too. It's time to demand stories that tell important truths, be it through their playwriting, direction, acting, or any other element. Theater can be one of the greatest forms of storytelling, and it should be consistently.

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