mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 1/30/04
There seems to be a template for plays written post-Durang. I’ve seen the structure over and over again: Start off with a bang, something that sets the stage for a lot of lunacy; make the humor grander, the situations more over-the-top, the characters flatter; end the first act with a hilariously unbelievable farcical moment; begin the second act with more wildness, but add a tinge of darkness; somewhere in the middle of the second act, throw the switch and turn everything into a deeply disturbing treatise that slaps the audience back into reality; end with ambiguity. David Lindsay-Abaire’s Wonder of the World neatly slips into what amounts to the contemporary version of the well-made dramedy. The author of the noted plays Kimberly Akimbo and Fuddy Meers scored a popular, if not quite a critical hit with Wonder of the World last year in its Off-Broadway premiere featuring Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Sedaris at the Manhattan Theatre Club. There’s a lot of humor in this piece about the explosive escape of a plain Jane from a stifling marriage that leads her on a strange journey of self-discovery at Niagara Falls. However, Stray Cat Theatre’s production, directed by Amanda Kochert, lacks some of the necessary shading of character to strengthen the power of the final message. The comedy is big, the performances generally very broad, the modulation is lacking, and while I laughed my head off through a lot of the show, a few of the performances became too shrill to put up with for the full evening.
Theatre
is about empathy, no matter what the era. Kochert has definitely stressed
the funny in her directorial choices, but the humor begins to be repetitious
as the second act commences. This results in a lack of empathy for the main
character, the suddenly free and scrambling Cass (a braying Alicia
Sutton, picutred left).
Sutton is funny, often very funny, as she rips through a list of activities
she had dreamed of doing before she married Kip (a consistent Ron
May), an
everyman with a sick secret. However, Sutton plays the role with an overwhelmed
one-track-mindedness that wears thin as the evening moves forward. As the
center
of the script, Sutton’s flatness undercuts the finale accordingly.
Supporting cast members Allison Hilston and Kenny
Brodie as a married newbie PI tag team
also add to the shrillness of the production, Hilston wandering the stage
without any believability in character, and Brodie believably playing a very
annoying
character.
Despite
this central flaw, there are some wonderful performances within. May is subtler
than Sutton, and balances the second act with his
presence.
Neda
Tavassoli (pictured right) plays the whacky sidekick to Cass,
Lois. Coming to Niagara Falls with a barrel, intent on killing herself
after
her husband
has left
her
and her alcoholism, Tavassoli is the perfect sidekick. There is shading in
her
portrayal missing from Sutton’s. Christopher Miller’s (pictured
above) performance
as Cass’ potential replacement soul mate, Captain Mike of the Maid
of the Mist, is even stronger in its use of shading. The lone voice of
reason in an unreasonable world, Miller’s performance is a perfect
balance of humor and warmth. In her myriad of supporting roles, Alette
Valencia is
wonderful,
part quick-change artist and part oddball.
Joseph Benesh’s clever use of curtains allows for quick changes, aiding in the flow of the episodic evening. Michael Eddy’s lighting design is impressive in the restricting space, while Benjamin Monrad’s sound design utilizes some prescient music that adds to the humor and commentary of the evening. Kerry McCue’s costumes are well-crafted.
I laughed a lot during this production, and that’s important to note. The script is full of humor. To that end, Kochert and Sutton’s choices do not greatly undercut the jokes. However, when it comes to the dramatic part of the evening, empathy is important. If you’re not worried about connecting with the lead character, Wonder of the World should keep you in stitches from stem to stern.
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