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| Gina Costigan and Hayley Mills. Photo: Jeremy Daniel |
Party Face
By Isobel Mahon
Directed by Amanda Bearse
NY City Center
Through April 8
By Lauren Yarger
One of the thrills of live stage theater is getting to see actors
you love on film in person. Party Face at NY City Center's
intimate Stage II, gives us a chance to enjoy being up close and personal with
Hayley Mills, who won an Academy Award for Disney's "Polyanna" in
1960.
The young actress, who continued her family's acting legacy (she's
the daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and the sister of Juliet
Mills) went on to star in such iconic films as "The Parent Trap" (in
which she plays twins), "The Chalk Garden" (a personal favorite) and
"The Trouble with Angels" (another personal favorite) among others.
Later, on stage, she played Anna Leonowens in The King and I (a
personal favorite -- do you see a theme going here?) So I was like a giddy fan
when Mills made her entrance, looking fabulous (she'll be 72 next month) and
pencil thin in Lara de Brun's costuming of metallic pink ankle pants and a
blouse and short jacket.
Mills plays Carmel, a controlling mother who wreaks havoc in the lives of her two daughters, Mollie May (Gina Costigan) and Maeve (Brenda Meaney). In denial about Mollie's recent hospitalization just days before for a nervous breakdown, Carmel shows up for a party to celebrate Mollie's new kitchen extension in her suburban Dublin apartment (Jeff Ridenour designs the bland, modern grey kitchen framed by rocks and plants that suggest some sort of terrace.) Betraying a disapproving tone that suggests her daughter can't get anything quite right, she brings some food to serve the party -- "better" than the chips, hummus and vegetables Mollie has set out. She also invites Chloe (Allison Jean White), who Carmel thinks might just be a good influence on Mollie. After all, look at how nicely she is dressed in a flowy, stunning blue dress -- a stark comparison to the frumpy sweater and slacks Mollie wears, which draws several disbelieving "Is that what you are wearing?" remarks from her mother as she preps for the gathering.
Meanwhile, Mollie has her own ideas about whom to invite to the party and extends an invitation to Bernie (the always wonderful Klea Blackhurst), a fellow patient she met at the psychiatric ward, whose germaphobia causes her to wrap her shoes (and just about anything else) in plastic wrap. Needless to say, things get tense, especially when Carmel no longer can pretend that Mollie's suicide attempt and her son-in-law's decision to leave their marriage is just "a bad patch." Perhaps the fact that Mollie took a sledge hammer to the new marble counter top in the kitchen might have been a clue? Chloe's attempts at amateur psychology don't help either, but some genuine affection from Maeve and Bernie just might if everyone can abandon their party faces and get real.
Director Amanda Bearse (TV's "Married with Children") doesn't make the mistake of trying to stage this play like a sitcom. She gives the actresses room to create characters with as much depth as possible. The play by Isobel Mahon (Glenroe, Fair City) doesn't give them a lot to work with, though. There are some very funny lines in there, but overall the piece feels like a draft. Some ideas aren't fully explored and focus and polish are needed The intermission also needs to go in favor of a 90-minute, no-interval format (the end of Act One is one of the biggest action killers leading into intermission I ever have seen.)
The women party at City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th St., NYC, through April 8. Performance times vary. Tickets are $38-$128: nycitycenter.org
Additional credits:
Lighting design by Joyce Liao; Sound design by Damien Figueras
Mills plays Carmel, a controlling mother who wreaks havoc in the lives of her two daughters, Mollie May (Gina Costigan) and Maeve (Brenda Meaney). In denial about Mollie's recent hospitalization just days before for a nervous breakdown, Carmel shows up for a party to celebrate Mollie's new kitchen extension in her suburban Dublin apartment (Jeff Ridenour designs the bland, modern grey kitchen framed by rocks and plants that suggest some sort of terrace.) Betraying a disapproving tone that suggests her daughter can't get anything quite right, she brings some food to serve the party -- "better" than the chips, hummus and vegetables Mollie has set out. She also invites Chloe (Allison Jean White), who Carmel thinks might just be a good influence on Mollie. After all, look at how nicely she is dressed in a flowy, stunning blue dress -- a stark comparison to the frumpy sweater and slacks Mollie wears, which draws several disbelieving "Is that what you are wearing?" remarks from her mother as she preps for the gathering.
Meanwhile, Mollie has her own ideas about whom to invite to the party and extends an invitation to Bernie (the always wonderful Klea Blackhurst), a fellow patient she met at the psychiatric ward, whose germaphobia causes her to wrap her shoes (and just about anything else) in plastic wrap. Needless to say, things get tense, especially when Carmel no longer can pretend that Mollie's suicide attempt and her son-in-law's decision to leave their marriage is just "a bad patch." Perhaps the fact that Mollie took a sledge hammer to the new marble counter top in the kitchen might have been a clue? Chloe's attempts at amateur psychology don't help either, but some genuine affection from Maeve and Bernie just might if everyone can abandon their party faces and get real.
Director Amanda Bearse (TV's "Married with Children") doesn't make the mistake of trying to stage this play like a sitcom. She gives the actresses room to create characters with as much depth as possible. The play by Isobel Mahon (Glenroe, Fair City) doesn't give them a lot to work with, though. There are some very funny lines in there, but overall the piece feels like a draft. Some ideas aren't fully explored and focus and polish are needed The intermission also needs to go in favor of a 90-minute, no-interval format (the end of Act One is one of the biggest action killers leading into intermission I ever have seen.)
The women party at City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th St., NYC, through April 8. Performance times vary. Tickets are $38-$128: nycitycenter.org
Additional credits:
Lighting design by Joyce Liao; Sound design by Damien Figueras
FAMILY-FRIENDLY FACTORS:
-- Derogatory term for women
-- Language
-- God's name taken in vain
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