Betty's Summer Vacation

C-

One of my long-time theatrical regrets is that I missed Christopher Durang’s outrageous comedy when it ran at Playwrights Horizons in 1999. It gave a boost to Durang’s then-sagging career and won an Obie for Kristine Nielsen. I was therefore happy to learn that a group I had never heard of, The Onomatopoiea Theatre Company, was giving it an Equity-approved showcase at the Gene Frankel Theater. In what could politely be called a shoestring production, we get the bare bones of Durang’s comedy. His most original idea is to give the play its own laugh track, audible to the characters, which graduates from laughs to comments to ever more insistent demands. (I wonder whether this device was an inspiration for Jackie Sibblies Drury’s recent Fairview at SoHo Rep.) The four guests gathered at a summer rental in the Hamptons are a motley crew: Betty (Holly Kay Benedict), who deliberately seems quite ordinary; her motor-mouthed friend Trudy (Tori Pence); the reclusive Keith (Jake Minter) who arrives with a shovel and a mysterious hatbox; and the priapic Buck (Thadeus Kevin Brown) who needs sex 20 times a day. We also meet the flamboyant landlady, Mrs. Seizmagraff (Kimberly Kay) and Mr. Vanislaw (Samuel Shurtleff), the homeless man she brings home. Last but not least are the voices (Orlando Rodriguez, Rachel Freedman and Jim DiMunno), the startling effect of whose appearance is diminished by the production’s limited resources. The wacky plot includes many dated references, e.g. Lorena Bobbitt and the Menendez brothers, but the point that we are addicted to the media is still all too relevant today. In what was probably the climax of the second act (the intermission has been scratched, probably wisely, in this version), Mrs. Seizmagraff performs an episode of Court TV, playing all the roles. Ms. Kay is fine but no match for what my imagination thought Kristine Nielsen must have done with the scene. The other actors were competent but would have benefited from sharper direction from Thomas R. Gordon. Braden Hooter’s set is modest in the extreme. Al Malonga’s costumes for the voices are a hoot. My overall reaction to the evening was disappointment. For a long time, I had wished that someone would revive this play. I guess the message is: be careful what you wish for. Running time: one hour 45 minutes; no intermission.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike ****

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Just when New York City can really use a laugh, along comes Christopher Durang's latest play, now in previews at Lincoln Center Theater. Durang stalwarts Kristine Nielsen (Sonia), David Hyde Pierce (Vanya) and Sigourney Weaver (Masha) are joined by newcomers Genevieve Angelson (Nina), Shalita Grant (Cassandra) and Billy Magnussen (Spike) in this riotous Chekhov mash-up with a touch of Aeschylus and Walt Disney. Instead of 19th-century Russia, the time is now and the place is an idyllic farmhouse in Bucks County, where middle-aged siblings Sonia and Vanya rue the meaninglessness of their lives. They are visited by their sister Masha, a famous movie star who owns the house and supports them, her current boy toy Spike, a feckless actor who undresses at every possible opportunity, and their neighbors' guest Nina, an eager young actress. And then there's the cleaning woman Cassandra, who has second sight and a way with voodoo dolls. Durang gives each character ample opportunity to shine. Their antics provide a multitude of laughs. Underlying all the humor is a tinge of regret over the loss of community in a society that no longer watches Ozzie and Harriet or licks postage stamps. Plot has never been the main thing for Durang, and it isn't here either. The humor occasionally flags and the play could profit from a little tightening. The set by David Korins is gorgeous and Emily Rebholz's costumes are delightful. Nicholas Martin's direction is fine. I haven't laughed that much in a long time. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.