Tea and Simpering: A Cheerleader's Guide to Growing Up (Condensed)
"Vanities" at TheatreWorks
*1/2 (out of *****)
Mark S.P. Turvin
(w) 965-1021  (h) 894-5443
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@asu.edu

	If it's been said once, it's been said a million times: with 
mediocre material, a production is doomed from the start. 
"Vanities," a little nothing of a show concerning a ten year 
period for three popular friends as they (supposedly) grow up and 
grow apart, is a favorite of community and dinner theatres for 
many reasons, not the least of which is that it is a quaint, 
facadal, nostalgic look at the '60s and '70s. For every weighty 
feminist issue that's gingerly ventured near, there are plenty of 
cute references to the staples of cheerleading, sorority life, and 
other important things revolving around these three Texas girls. 
This much can be said for the show: it's cutesy, it's a button-
pusher for people who yearn for easier times, and it's about as 
dramatically interesting as an evening in a darkened theatre. 
	With this already against it, the production of this 
simplistic show is then hampered by unbalanced acting and 
uninspired direction. The three women in the cast, Valley veterans 
Cathy Dresbach as the happy homemaker-wannabe Joanne and Robyn 
Allen as the determined, A-type personality Kathy, and recent 
transplant Martha Magee as the independent, strong-willed Mary, 
play their respective roles at turns unconvincingly and even a bit 
smugly. 
	Ms. Magee's performance is the best of the three, possibly 
owing to the fact that her role had some kind of discernible 
character movement from beginning to end, and that she also was 
the only one who looked even close to her character's age. 
	Ms. Dresbach's character, already a walking stereotype, is 
given a general gloss of a presentation by the actress. While her 
accent was dead-on, at times her performance is as flat as a Texas 
prairie. She does well when the dialogue is zippy and funny, but 
when she plays dramatic, she is unable to flesh out anything truly 
believable.
	The most puzzling of the performances comes from Ms. Allen, 
who plays the first two acts of three tongue-in-cheek. There is a 
sense, from her delivery, that she knows how ludicrous some of her 
lines are, and is giving them an inappropriate ironic reading. In 
the third act, her presentation becomes mysteriously dark and 
dramatic, much, much more so than the situation calls for. Her 
characterization is so somber, in fact, that it throws off the 
balance in what winds up being the weakest of the tea parties.
	Dina Kay's direction and staging is nothing remarkable, 
either good or bad. 
	Where the show does well is in the versatile set design by 
Gregory Jaye, lighting by David Wo and on-target costuming by 
Margret Emerson. The unit set changes fluidly from high-school 
auditorium to sorority room to well-appointed garden apartment 
with the ever-present vanities behind. The period costumes work 
perfectly, from cheerleader pom-poms to Mary's pop-art mini-dress. 
	This final offering of TheatreWork's tenth summer season is 
undoubtedly the weakest of the presentations, but there will be 
those who lived through this era (1963 through 1974) who will 
enjoy the references and attitudes portrayed. If a trip down 
memory lane is what you're after, though, I'd recommend renting 
"American Graffiti" or "Easy Rider" instead. 

Production Details:
"Vanities" by Jack Heifner
TheatreWorks, Peoria
815-1791
August 23rd through September 8th, 1996
$9-$12

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