Some Girl(s) at Pillsbury House Theatre on 11/20/09
By: John Olive
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| Mo Perry and Clarence Wethern in Some Girl(s) - Photo by Aaron Fenster |
If you're looking for an antidote to all this fakey feel-good, here's a good one: Neil LaBute's Some Girl(s) (Walking Shadow Theatre Company performing at the Pillsbury House Theatre through Dec 5, walkingshadowcompany.org). LaBute is famously misanthropic and Some Girl(s) doesn't disappoint, though it lacks the overt creepiness of Fat Pig (produced by Walking Shadow a few seasons back) or In the Company of Men, his first play. Some Girl(s) puts four composed, accomplished and very different women into a frenzy of anger, bitterness, confusion and lust. It works well.
Our (anti)hero, Guy (played with rumpled aplomb by Clarence Wethern) finds himself on the cusp of a marriage (or so he says) to a 23 year old nursing student (well, she'll be 23 in April). A writer just starting a real career, Guy is zigzagging around the country to visit with former girlfriends. Initially he wants, vaguely, to apologize for any harm he might have done. What Guy really wants to do, in his goofy and bewildered way, is to open old wounds, toss in a few fresh handfuls of salt, then sit back and enjoy the fireworks.
Guy is a constant presence; the play really belongs to the women and the actors in the Walking Shadows production are all quite good. I was especially taken with Mo Perry's raw and lanky Sam, the frowzy housewife whose recent pregnancy has her face breaking out and who, out of nowhere, slaps Guy. Surprising, and very effective. Tyler (played with erotic power by Anna Sundberg) is the least angry. She wants mostly to re-establish a sexual relationship. When this fails Tyler focuses a stoned yet probing intelligence on Guy – what's he really up to? All this ends when she... Well, I won't reveal it. Lindsay is the most overtly angry. With good reason: Guy has published an essay ("The Calculus of Desire") revealing the steamy details of their extra-marital affair. Jean Salo plays Lindsay with a snapping, seething and scary anger. As she disrobes in her crazed attempt at seduction I had to look away. The final, and most physical, encounter is with Bobbi (the excellent Jennifer J. Phillips). It's Bobbi who discovers what Guy is really doing. All in all, a first rate cast.
The stage at the Pillsbury House is a beaut, intimate and warm, perfect for this piece. The designers – Jennifer DeGolier (lights), Sarah Holmberg (props), Katharine Horowitz (sound), Suzanne Jankowski (costumes) and Steve Kath (sets) – really make the space work. The play is done without an intermission. During the scene breaks two housekeepers come out and change the hotel art over the bed. This provides some much-needed breathing space as we await the arrival of the actors.
It may not be LaBute's absolute best, but Some Girl(s) is funny and provides a playground for good actors. Forget about Christmas for a few hours, and enjoy the show.
Location Info:
Pillsbury House Theatre
Artist Info: Walking Shadow Theater Company
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