By Lauren Yarger
A group of men from different walks of life gathers together for a weekend of relaxation and entertainment. These guys aren't there to play poker, hunt, watch sports, ponder the Civil Rights Movement, or do anything else you might expect a group of men to do in 1962.
They are at a colony in the Catskills where they can dress as women. Casa Valentina, Harvey Fierstein's newest play about gender identity, gets a Broadway production for the Manhattan Theatre Club. It is inspired by true events that took place at the Chevalier d'Eon Resort in upstate New York where heterosexual men could escape from the confines of regular society and indulge in their desire to dress as women without fear of being arrested or scandalized. The aren't gay, transgender or drag queens, they tell us. They are "self-made" women who just feel more comfortable letting their feminine side out.
In fact, the owner of the establishment, George (Patrick Page). a.k.a. Valentina, lets anyone who is interested know they can receive assurances about his prowess with the opposite sex any time they want from his loving and supportive wife, Rita (an excellent Mare Winningham), who helps him run the inn. Not only is this GG (genuine girl) a friend to regulars like Bessie (Tom McGowan), Terry (John Cullum), Gloria (Nick Westrate) and Amy (Larry Pine), her wig shop and lessons about how to be feminine help the men create their new personas. She's perfectly fine with George's other identity... or so she thinks.
Joining the group is newcomer Jonathan (Gabriel Ebert), a friend of Gloria's, who has never indulged his desire to dress up in front of others, and whose new wife has no clue about his secret desire. His first attempt at making the transformation is unfortunate, but soon the "girls"pitch in to give him a makeover. Valentina performs a sort of marriage ceremony that unites Jonathan and his inner female and voila! Miranda emerges (the transformation is aided by skillful costuming by Rita Ryack.)
Also joining the group this weekend is an important visitor: Charlotte (Reed Birney), who has been advocating for -- and even going to prison to guarantee -- rights for transvestites. She publishes a magazine for those enjoying a transvestite lifestyle, for which George has penned some articles and in which photos of some of the resort's clients have appeared.
George also hopes to hit Charlotte up for a loan to keep the resort operating. Business has been down and he faces additional threats of closure following a postal service investigation into the mail delivery he received of a damaged envelope containing photos of a homosexual and pornographic nature. They were intended for someone at the resort with secret homosexual tendencies -- a snake in their little garden of Eden. Charlotte has her own agenda, however: to make their sorority a non-profit and legitimize what they are doing.
That idea doesn't go over with the rest of the members, however, especially since non-profit status means the members will have to reveal their names and addresses. Amy is a judge and is nearing retirement. He doesn't want to risk his benefits or scandal touching his family. Terry, the oldest in attendance, has been exploring dressing as a woman longer than the group has been in existence and doesn't see the need to give it official status. Bessie agrees, saying they already have everything they need: parties, privacy and the magazine.
Terry also bristles over being forced to sign an anti-gay statement to join the non-profit. It's necessary, Charlotte says, to distance what they do from homosexual activity, still looked on with disgust and distrust in 1962. It was the homosexual community, however, that accepted Terry and supported her without conditions or unwelcome advances before she discovered the community of transvestites at the resort, and she refuses to stand against them now. Gloria has her own reasons for questioning George's ability to denounce homosexuals.The friendly atmosphere continues to erode and finally explodes when one of the member's possible homosexual leanings are revealed.
Meanwhile, Rita, who went into her marriage with "eyes wide open" about George's transvestite activity, slowly realizes that she might not be seeing everything as clearly as she thought. Though her marriage appears perfect on the outside -- and we believe the already-married Bessie is half serious when he proposes because Rita really does appear to be a totally accepting partner for a transvestite -- not everything is perfect on the inside and her heart is troubled. A veil lifts as she realizes that Valentina has a closer relationship with her husband than she does.
"What do you want?" she desperately asks her husband?
"I want to be normal," he replies.
But is normal named George or Valentina?
The play is carefully directed by Joe Mantello. We're given glimpses into the lives of some of the men as we see them putting on their makeup and dresses. A serious tone is set and giggling at men dressing as women isn't part of the equation -- even at Page, whose large, masculine physique looks the least feminine in his costume. The casting of named stars, however, probably was a mistake as it's hard to get past thinking, "That's Patrick Page in a slip," "Oh, there's Reed Birney dressed as a woman," or "There's John Cullum wearing sandals." Birney's character seems most natural, perhaps because we don't see the transition. He enters as Charlotte and we don't know anything about the character's male counter self. He gives a controlled performance of a person dressed like a woman who takes care of business like a man.
The play itself, is flawed, however, with the second act losing direction and Fierstein relying on huge monologues that sound like essays or old radio dramas to drive the tenuous plot inspired by the book "Casa Susanna" by Michel Hurst and Andrew Martin-Weber. It doesn't become propaganda, however, and the playwright deserves a lot of credit for exploring different perspectives. Rita grows increasingly disillusioned and thanks to Winngham's sensitive, moving portrayal, we totally understand her confusion and pain.
Fierstein also includes a brief encounter with the judge's disapproving daughter, Eleanor (Lisa Emery), who is given the freedom to express her unpopular opinions about her father's choices without judgment. Kudos, Harvey.
McGowan provides much needed comic relief as his character delivers Fierstein-esque one liners and quotes Oscar-Wilde.
Casa Valentina runs through June 15 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St., NYC.
http://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/
Christians might also like to know:
-- Lord's name taken in vain
-- Homosexual activity
-- Language
-- Sexually suggestive dialogue
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