Theater Works' Lips Together, Teeth Apart
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 1/15/99
(out of )Contemporary playwright Terrence McNally is a leading force in American Drama. His texts of such plays as Love! Valour! Compassion!, Ragtime, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, and the current and very controversial Corpus Christi have made him one of the important voices of our time. It is time for your reviewer to admit publicly, though, that he has never seen nor read any of Mr. McNally's work before reviewing Theater Works' current production of Lips Together, Teeth Apart this past Friday night. Regrettably, I missed the critically-acclaimed production of Love! Valour! Compassion! by The Actor's Group nearly two seasons ago. Since this is my first initiation into the worlds and works of McNally, I must begin judging from what Theater Works and director Joe Marshall have to offer, and unfortunately, based on this first experience, I am rather unimpressed with Mr. McNally's work.
Perhaps having heard such wonderful things about his writing set
me up for a fall, or perhaps the odd pacing and subdued energy
level of this production hindered the script. I would believe
the first quicker than the second, though. In terms of basic writing,
some of Mr. McNally's choices seem silly and inane, such as the
consistently spoken internal monologues that attempt to create
a level of audience knowledge meant to heighten tensions, but
that only serve to undermine rising action and conflict throughout
the three-act evening. Whatever the cause, this production is
stale, and while it does have a few somewhat dramatic moments,
and several funny bits, Mr. Marshall has a generally tedious
production on his hands.
At the center of the play are two couples celebrating July 4th
in the house of one of the wives recently deceased homosexual
brother on Fire Island in New York. The first couple are the head
of an upper-middle class family from Connecticut with John, a
cynically intellectual husband and Chloe, a flittery, chattery
wife with a love for musical theatre. Her brother Sam heads the
second couple, a baser, simpler construction firm owner and Sally,
his artistically-inclined, depressive wife, the sister of the
former occupant. This is a day filled with social landmines and
intricately interwoven relationships that give new levels of meaning
to the term "dysfunctional." These are the kind of heterosexual
relationships that Albee has a field day with. Mr. McNally, though,
uses the clumsy technique of stopping the action to allow each
of the couples to speak their unspoken feelings, letting the audience
in on secrets before their revelation to the others, and giving
voice to what Albee tends to leave as a rich subtext. The resulting
play seems almost completely single-leveled, and lacks the punch
of discovery.
Mr. Marshall has tried to cope with these annoying scene stoppages using lighting and sound techniques to alert the audience to the text and the spoken subtext meant only for the audience. Unfortunately, the pacing is thrown completely by these technical choices, and just when tension mounts, the play stops on a dime to comment on itself.
Blame does not rest solely on text or direction, though. The talented
cast of Gil Berry, Matthew Cary, Laura Durant
and Suzanne Hickey make several choices that seem to work
contrary to a successful presentation. The worst offender is Ms.
Hickey, whose choice of characterization for Chloe is less flighty
Connecticut pseudo-sophisticate and more dingbat midwesterner.
Her portrayal of this constantly talking soccer mom is so irritating
as to alienate her from the audience. A shrill voice and high-pitched
droning kill what little sympathy any might have for this dense
character. Better is Ms. Durant's Sally, although she is so oppressively
depressing, and so suddenly manic, her lack of modulation becomes
almost comedic.
The best of this disappointing production comes from Mr. Berry
and Mr. Cary. Though Mr. Cary is not quite what one would expect
from a construction tough like Sam, he does an acceptable job
of interacting well with his fellow actors. Mr. Berry is better
suited for his role as social climber and intellectual John, bringing
across more of his subtext and subjugated passions despite their
premature voicing.
The kudos for this disappointing production belong to the designers,
though, who give audiences the best technical offerings yet from
Theater Works. Thom
Gilseth's set is, in a word, perfect, recreating the lovely
deck, back rooms, and even the pool of this well-appointed beach
house. Just as impressive is David Empey's lighting design,
who does what he can using gel scrollers to snap between outer
and inner monologues and the movement of the day's lighting. Chris
Wo's sound design, and Margret Emerson's costumes are
also not-to-be-believed, pinpointing perfectly the emotional feeling
of the day and the characters within. If only this kind of technical
perfection could have been supporting a stronger performance
One must still congratulate Artistic Director Gregory Jaye
for his risky choice of this piece. Despite living in the shadow
of Sun City, the company has returned to its original mission
statement and produced more than just the bankable and the bland.
While this show may have its problems textually and in performance,
it is still better to watch than yet-another production of Tuna
anything.
Production Details:
Lips Together, Teeth Apart by Terrence McNally
Theater Works,
Peoria
(602) 815-7930
January 8th - January 31st, 1999