Sunday, March 25, 2012

Quick Hit Theater Review: The Lady from Dubuque

The Lady from Dubuque
By Edward Albee
Directed by David Esbjornson
Featuring: Jane Alexander, Catherine Curtin, Michael Hayden, Peter Francis James, Tricia Paoluccio, Thomas Jay Ryan, Laila Robins, J. Wilson
Signature Theatre

Summary:
A caustic Jo (Robins) and her husband, Sam (Hayden) have some friends over to their large, modern, rather drab-looking home in the suburbs (John Arnone, set design), ostensibly so Jo can mock them and be mean to them. “Enjoying” this get together are two couples: older Fred (Wilson) and his younger, bimbo-brunette girlfriend, Carol (Paoluccio) who isn’t sure she wants to be wife number three and mousy Edgar (Ryan) and his even less impressive, awkward wife Lucinda (Curtin), who is an old college friend of Jo’s. When the crowd isn’t shouting at each other, talking about sex or cursing, Jo hurls insults (she redefines cruelty, really, and screams in horrific pain from the cancer (we presume) that is killing her. Showing up are Elizabeth (Alexander) and Oscar (James), whom everyone notes is black. Elizabeth claims to be Jo’s mother, but Sam seems to know she is someone else and resists her efforts to give Jo the comfort she needs.

Highlights:
Robins gets a workout skillfully maintaining the emotional wreck that is Jo. Alexander brings a confidence that befits Elizabeth and James adds some much-needed humor as the pompous uppity Oscar. Standing out is Paoluccio as the wiser-than-you-think gold digger. The technique of having characters address the audience directly a times is effective.

Lowlights:
This clan is just not a lot of fun to be around and there isn’t any real reason that folks would endure Jo’s company – and come back for more – except that they need to so Albee can write his play. Dialogue is tedious as characters repeat the line just said to them by another character and in some cases, they simply repeat their own phrases. Sam asks “Who are you?” of Elizabeth ad nauseam. The guy next to me was asleep at the 10-minute mark and stayed happily dozing until intermission.

The dialogue has an unnatural sounds to it, possibly because all of the characters, with the exception of Elizabeth, don’t seem "normal" (they all behave strangely) or "regular guy" so it's a little hard to accept that the theme is for "every man" when not every man seems to be present. All of the men are somewhat less than masculine in nature (Sam sleeps in a night dress and cries) and are either subservient to or dismissive of the women. Jo is a shrew and Lucinda and Carol don’t seem to have any self worth.

Death comes to us all, and in the end, who will be with you? We get it. It's just hard to wrap our arms around this treatment of the subject.

More information:
The Lady from Dubuque plays Off-Broadway at the lovely new Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 4nd St., NYC where it has been extended through April 15. http://www.signaturetheatre.org/

Christians might also like to know:
-- Language
-- Lord’s name taken in vain
-- Sexual dialogue
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Gracewell Prodiuctions

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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