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