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Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
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Fifty reasons to kill your lover |
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| Fifty reasons to kill your lover | ||
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by Miryam Gordon -
SGN A&E Writer Big Love By Charles Mee Directed by Josh Groshong Balagan Theatre Through May 17 This is one big bite of wedding cake! Fifty "sisters" (we never really know if they are related or just call themselves that) are escaping from being married to 50 (male) cousins. The cousins went away from Greece to America and now have come back to marry, whether the women want to or not. The women come ashore in Italy and ask for asylum from a villa owner. So, there are a lot of wedding dresses, and presents and cake and all that stuff. No, there aren't really 50 women and 50 men in the actual production, but there are a lot of characters. They created a huge project for costume designer, Katherine McConnell, who steps up to the task ably. The costumes are the most realistic part of the entire production, as it ends up. The play itself is absurdist and odd, in an interesting way. Three of the women, Kaitie Warren, Wonder Russell and Virginia Gabby, representing the 50 and three men, Curtis Eastwood, Sam Hagen and Ben Harris, representing the other 50, come ashore. They interact with the family who lives in the villa: Bella, the grandmother, played to very good effect by Richard Clairmont, in a reasonably good, Tootsie-ish kind of way, Piero, the son/proprietor, played by G. S. Michaels, and the grandson, Guiliano, played with Gay abandon by Bobby Temple. Much of the play is embedded in long speeches laying out each side's positions on freedom, making one's own choices, women being abandoned by their society or used as objects, men needing to be tough and then told to "put it away" and be nice, all competently set out by Mee to present the polemics of the situation. But while these speeches are going on, a lot of throwing of selves onto the floor happens - with sometimes hilarious effect. In fact, the absurdity of the play is set in the beginning when the three women start hurtling glass plates into huge cylindrical wastebaskets. And shortly after, one of the men hurls actual saw blades into a waiting wall of wood. Most of the long, one-act play is spent wondering if the women will be forced to marry, and when it is clear that, yes, they will be, Thyona, the most warrior-like of the women (Russell) declares that they must make a pact that every man would be killed on the wedding night. They are driven to this result by having every choice removed from them. Rather than describe the rest of the play, since hopefully it's clear what it's about, far better to call out strong performances. Director, Jake Groshong, has bitten off a huge chunk of meat, here, and it's edgy and physically challenging. Actors are occasionally barely clothed, action is nonstop. The audience doesn't know if it should laugh or cry. The stage, at the end, is one of the messiest stages to reset. Clothing is covered with wedding cake and fake blood. It's a massive piece, so kudos are given just for taking it on. Not quite knowing how to separate what's written from what's added, Groshong seems to have managed a directing challenge. Virginia Gabby is fun to watch. She plays a self-involved, somewhat shallow sister, and sounds and looks like Jennifer Tilly. Curtis Eastwood follows his very odd, but very entertaining performance as Daddy Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, with another odd and entertaining performance as one of the cousins. One doesn't know if one should like him, appreciate his philosophy, or dislike him and want him dead. Bobby Temple's flaming performance and contribution to the silliness earn him a mention. Other strong performers in this large cast include Kaitie Warren, Ben Harris, Wonder Russell and the anchoring performance of G. S. Michaels in two roles. Honorable mention to stage managers Louise Butler and Matt Smith, who have to deal with the mess. You might love it or not love it, but it's definitely Big. For more information, go to www.balagantheatre.org or www.brownpapertickets.com or call 800-838-3006. Comments on reviews go to sgncritic@gmail.com. |
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