Review: Allegory and Sitcoms

Mr. Hurley just put his two cents in about Washington Ensemble Theater’s current production of “The Mormon Bird Play”, written, directed and designed by Roger Benington. Cynics could say Mr. Hurley’s well written opinion might be seen as potentially biased; he has worked with the noted ensemble theater company in the past, (in their excellent “RoboPop!) so I think it wise that I put my pennies in the collection plate…with a brief apology for the late review and to Mr. Hurley for giving those nasty cynics the benefit of any doubt…(Mea Culpa and Note:  I meant to write this review earlier but got “busy” doing thirty million other things. And, I was also prompted to write based on some other reviews I’ve just read that annoyed me…)

I probably need to mention, yet again, that I’m a huge fan of WET…they consistently produce the most interesting, artistic and challenging theater in town, and all on a shoe string budget and many of this town’s hottest theater talents have got their start at the Ensemble. Even when WET’s work is a bit underwhelming, they still get kudos for attempting new and exciting works. “The Mormon Bird Play” is very new and very exciting, and while it’s not perfect, it never underwhelms but frequently challenges and delights both mind and senses. Roger Benington serves as triple threat here…he wrote it, directed it and designed it and proves once again, he’s a major theatrical talent. I can let the cat out of the bag and reveal I nominated him twice for this year’s Gregory Award for his brilliant direction of both WET’s “Sextet” and New Century’s “O Lovely Glowworm”. The excellent Sheila Daniels won this year, but I think Mr. Benington really was the Director of the Year…his direction always manages to be bold, yet lyrical and graceful; it has a great muscular vibrancy to it, but isn’t afraid to embrace nuance and subtlety when required. I very much want to see Mr. Benington given a chance to direct at the major theaters in town; not that they necessarily do BETTER work, but I’d like to see him given a larger budget and a bigger canvas to work on….are you listening ACT, Seattle Rep and trying to come back from the dead, Intiman?

We’re in allegory world with “Mormon Bird” and it’s a dreamy world of Mormon children (both boys and girls but played by six male actors) who also portray characters in a thinly disguised Mormon ritual, as well as 19th century Mormon women on the trail on their way to Utah, coping with a tragic secret but all enacted on a lovely set (designed by Mr. Benington) that recalls your average Mormon temple hall, or Elk’s Club, or Oddfellows Hall. But, the play centers on the lives of four Mormon kids, 2 boys and 2 girls, and the arrival of a third girl, the odd, unattractive and nearly mute Ivona and the polarizing effect she has on their lives. The two interlude scenes, (the Mormon ritual and the Mormon women on the trail) reflect, comment and influence the actions made by the children in their scenes that all tie up in the shocking conclusion of the play.

“Mormon Bird” isn’t perfect. Some of the segues are awkwardly handled and the ending is aggressively abrupt. And, “Mormon Bird” is the second play in a row at WET to feature adults playing children and the FOURTH play in the last year to feature allegorical animals portrayed by people, so they sometimes have a tendency to get in a bit of a thematic rut. (That, or contemporary playwrights need to expand their vision a bit…)

The six young actors do a fine job portraying the various characters, largely resisting the urge to overdo the characterizations of both the children’s roles, and the women they portray. Parker Matthews has the toughest challenge, playing the mute changeling Ivona; it’s a nearly wordless role that relies solely on the physical presence of the actor and he does an excellent job, making the character whole and centered without the use of dialogue. Devin Bannon as Clifford, a conflicted sissy boy and Ashton Hyman as Evan, the neighborhood bully with his own secrets, offer both compelling and emotionally charged performances. Barry Cogswell, Noah Luce and Jeremy Behrens have the difficult task of not only playing children, but female ones at that, and manage to largely stay on track conveying both the femininity and kindness of the characters as well as their cruelty and fear.

“The Mormon Bird Play” is not an easy play to experience; it makes some demands on you. It’s frequently very funny, very dark, and very painful. Like I said earlier, it’s not a perfect piece of art; I think it could use some finessing and the ending could be worked on, but it’s an interesting journey into the heart of not only Mormonism, but into the world of faith, culture, sexuality and gender as well as the mind set of the mob mentality. It offers many challenges…you should embrace them.

Let’s take a look at Seattle Rep’s production of A.R. Gurney’s “Sylvia” AFTER the jump!

Pictured: From left to right – Darragh Kennan, Mari Nelson, Linda K. Morris (kneeling), and Alban Dennis. Photo by Chris Bennion.

Meanwhile, over at Seattle Rep, there’s a play that offers few challenges…but a lot of laughs. The Rep has been criticized for their current revival of A.R. Gurney’s comedy “Sylvia”, which last played at the Rep 15 years ago in an enormously successful production; why revisit this play, NOW? Well, the Rep isn’t stupid…in tough economic times, it pays to stage works they know can generate an audience/income. We won’t fault them too much for wanting to stay in the black and avoid an Intiman-ian fate. And, it never hurts to occasionally play to your subscriber base and offer a pleasing comedy. And, at least it’s not another gawdamned play by Yasmina Reza…

We’re gonna cheat and let the Rep explain the plot to “Sylvia”:

Empty nesters Greg and Kate have moved back to Manhattan after twenty-two years in the suburbs. As Kate tells Greg: “The dog phase of my life is definitely over.” But life has a way of giving you what you think you don’t want. Greg finds Sylvia, a street-smart lab/poodle mix, and brings her home. She promptly becomes a bone of contention between Greg and Kate, testing their marriage to hilarious and touching effect. In the years leading up to Seattle Rep’s 50th Anniversary, the theatre will be revisiting favorites. This heart-warming comedy is often requested, “Bring it back, please!”

Well, that sums it up.

I’m not a huge fan of Mr. Gurney…basically, he’s the white bread, upper middle class, Episcopal version of Neil Simon; a joke machine whose plots always concern the travails of upper middle class white folks living in, or near New York City. He’s made a gazillion dollars off of his trite two hander, “Love Letters” and his plays aren’t particularly deep or well structured. That being said, “Sylvia” is frequently funny as hell; after all, the main character is a dog, played by an actress, and yes, that character steals the show. The other main character, Greg the forlorn mid-life crisis husband, is a complete yutz and not at all sympathetic; frequently you want to shake the shit out of him, but the other four characters in the play have their charms and some very funny moments as well.

The only reason to see this sitcom of a play, is for the comedy and the performances. Four actors play six roles, and all four actors in the Rep’s production do a fine job. Linda K. Morris has a field day as Sylvia, relishing the rough physicality of the role, (you’ll notice she has knee pads built into the excellent costumes designed by Melanie Taylor Burgess) as well as the verbal hi jinks; particularly enjoyable are Sylvia’s encounters with a cat, and a male dog she has her “heat” on for. It’s a big, juicy role and Ms Morris makes the most of it…she’s great.

I hate the role, but Alban Morris does a fine job as the nebbishy husband, Greg, giving him some pathos and meaning. Mari Nelson very much delights as his put upon wife, Kate; it’s not always a sympathetic role as Kate can be viewed as bit of a bitch, but Ms Nelson manages to make her real and relatable. By the end of the play, she earns both your sympathy and respect.

There are three other smaller roles in the play: fellow dog enthusiast Tom; alcoholic society friend Phyllis and gender neutral therapist “Leslie”, and Darragh Kennan has a helluva good time portraying all three characters. Tom revels in his jockness; Phyllis is your stock, shocked upper crust drunk; and “Leslie” is bizarro world nut job so none of the roles are very realistic, but they are there to only get laughs and Mr. Kennan does his usual fine job of capturing all of them, unbelievable they might be. (He’s not the prettiest woman in the world, but Mr. Kennan does have some nice legs…)

I’m not a snob…not really. “Sylvia” is not great art, but it is greatly entertaining despite a clunky moment or two (a poorly conceived and executed musical number doesn’t charm; it almost stops the show dead…) The performances are strong, the comedy bits are pretty damn funny, and the show features excellent design work from Carey Wong (some posh sets); L.B. Morse, (lights) and Dominic Cody Kramers (sound design). It’s not deep, but it was a pleasant way to spend an evening.