"Monopoly!"

Globe pick: The second of Mike Daisey's monologues for the American Repertory Theatre, which tackles everything from board games to boardrooms with infectious energy, closes May 5 at the Zero Arrow Theatre.

-----Louise Kennedy, Globe staff

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A devastating monologue about monopoly and its discontents, Mike Daisey explores the warped genius of inventor Nikola Tesla and his war with Thomas Edison over electricity – alternating current versus direct current – a battle that etched itself into the streets of New York City itself. This thread loops and whorls around Microsoft’s historic antitrust lawsuit, the secret history of the board game Monopoly, and ultimately the story of Daisey’s hometown and its one remaining retailer: Wal-Mart. As subversive as it is hilarious, Monopoly! illuminates the issues we confront under corporate rule, and explores the choices and struggles individuals face living in a system that recognizes only profit and loss.