20th Century Blues

C

Add another play to the list of this season’s productions featuring female ensembles (although this one does have a small part for a man). This dramedy, by playwright Susan Miller, winner of two Obies, a Blackburn Prize and a Guggenheim fellowship, introduces us to four 60-something friends who bonded 40 years ago when they spent a night in jail together after a protest. Since then, they have had an annual reunion to schmooze and pose for a group photograph taken by Danny (Polly Draper; Closer, Brooklyn Boy). Danny is the only one who is coming into her own at this stage of life; she has been chosen for a retrospective at MoMA with an associated TED talk. Mac (Franchelle Stewart Dorn; 'Tis Pity She's a Whore) is an investigative journalist who has just been bought out by her newspaper and feels adrift in the world of new media. She is also an African-American lesbian with a drinking problem. Gabby (Kathryn Grody; Fishing, A Model Apartment) is a veterinarian from Boston and breast cancer survivor, who is so terrified of being unable to function independently as a widow that she secretly rehearses even though her husband is in perfect health. Sil (Ellen Parker; Aunt Dan and Lemon, House and Garden) is a real estate broker who was left in dire straits by her ex and is about to have a facelift so she will not offend her clients with the appearance of age. When Danny tells her friends that she wants to use their pictures taken over 40 years in her retrospective, they do not rush to sign the necessary releases. We also meet Danny’s mother Bess (Beth Dixon; Major Barbara) who suffers from dementia and her adoptive son Simon (Charles Socarides; Sons of the Prophet) who is trying to summon the courage to meet his biological mother. I personally felt that the play would have been stronger without Simon and, perhaps, even without Bess. The interaction of the four friends could easily have provided enough material to hold our interest. The level of the writing is uneven, incisive one moment and clunky the next. Something that may sound silly but bothered me is that the group pictures did not include Danny, which seemed to undercut the idea of their bond. The topic of feelings of invisibility and obsolescence for mature women is one worthy of our attention. The treatment it gets from Ms. Miller is just good enough that I was left wishing it had been better. The actors work well together. Ms. Parker seemed a bit lethargic, but that may have been how the role was written. Beowulf Boritt (Act One) has given Danny a studio spacious enough to inspire real estate envy. Jennifer von Mayrhauser’s (Disgraced, Linda) costumes make an important contribution to defining the characters. Emily Mann, artistic director of McCarter Theatre, directed. The play is at Signature Center, but is not a Signature Theatre production. Running time: one hour 40 minutes; no intermission.

’Tis Pity She’s a Whore ***

Red Bull Theater, which specializes in plays of the Jacobean era, is presenting John Ford’s bloody revenge drama in a solid production at The Duke on 42nd Street. Amelia Pedlow and Matthew Amendt, as incestuous siblings Annabella and Giovanni, lead a strong cast of fifteen. Annabella’s three suitors, Lord Soranzo, Grimaldi and Bergetto, are well-played by Clifton Duncan, Tramell Tillman and Ryan Garbayo respectively. Derek Smith is impressive in the critical role of Vasques, Soranzo’s loyal servant. Franchelle Stewart Dorn makes a fine Putana, Annabella’s tutoress. Everett Quinton is good as Signor Donado, Bergetto’s uncle. Christopher Innvar, as Giovanni’s tutor and confessor Friar Bonaventura, seemed less comfortable than the others with verse. Philip Goodwin, Ryan Farley, Kelley Curran, Marc Vietor, Auden Thornton and Rocco Sisto round out the cast. The complicated plot of competing revenge plots runs like a Swiss clock under Jesse Bergers brisk, confident direction. David M. Barber’s scenic design is elegantly simple and Sara Jean Tosetti’s costumes are attractive. The second act is quite a blood fest, but such were the conventions of the time. The production does not sensationalize the gore. All in all, it was an evening well-spent. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, including intermission.