Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine

C

As the first installment of Lynn Nottage’s residency, Signature Theatre has revived this work from 2004. Theatergoers who know her only from serious plays such as Pulitzer prizewinners Ruined or Sweat may be surprised to see something in a lighter mode. Undine Barnes Calles (Cherise Boothe; Milk Like Sugar) is the invented persona of Sharona Watkins, who grew up in the Brooklyn projects, won a scholarship to Dartmouth, broke off all contact with her family who, she said, had died tragically in a fire, and for 14 years has run a successful PR firm catering to nouveau riche African-Americans. Two years ago she married Hervé (Ian Lassiter; Junk), a sexy Argentinian. When we meet her, she is yelling at her assistant Stephie (Mayaa Boateng; Fairview) for being unable to find a celebrity to attend the Fallopian Blockage benefit she is planning. Imperious in her gold lamé outfit at her teak desk, Undine is clearly ripe for a comeuppance. In short order, her husband absconds with all her money, she becomes the subject of an FBI investigation, she finds out she is pregnant, she is forced to move back home to the family she rejected and she ends up in jail after being mistaken for a drug addict. We next see her in a drug rehab group session where a college professor (Dashiell Eaves; A Time To Kill) is waxing rhapsodic over the pleasures of cocaine. Guy (Lassiter again) is a security guard in the group who takes a shine to her. We see their first date at a BBQ restaurant. A scene of her frustrating visit to a social services office is a bit heavy-handed. Undine’s attempts to become a better human being are not completely convincing and the second act flounders a bit. Truth is Undine, with her droll asides, is much more entertaining company than Sharona. Ms. Boothe is excellent and is supported by a strong ensemble of seven (Heather Alicia Simms; Fairview; Nikiya Mathis, Skeleton Crew; J. Bernard Calloway, Memphis; Marcus Callender, plus the three actors already mentioned) who play multiple roles. Some of the costumes by Montana Levi Blanco (In the Blood, Fairview) and wigs by Cookie Jordan (Once on This Island) are delightfully outlandish. Adam Rigg’s (The House That Will Not Stand) set converts effortlessly to a variety of locales. Director Lileana Blain-Cruz (Red Speedo, War) keeps things moving. It is sporadically entertaining but the satire misses as often as it hits. Running time: one hour 55 minutes including intermission.