The premise? Two environmentally friendly attorneys get married after a whirlwind, three month romance. On their wedding night, the bride, Susan, offers a present: granting the groom a fantasy. She bites off more than she can chew when she is suddenly faced with the reality that she has married a man, Brad, that occasionally likes to wear women's clothes and be called Barbara. In the second act, Brad runs for congress and is "found out" when pictures of him in drag are published in a tabloid. It is up to Susan to provided the spin to sway the voters.
One act material does not always hold up in the stretch to create a full length play, but Allen's script is strong. The writing is funny, frank, at times poignant and always believable. Her main characters, as written, are rich three dimensional beings with great depth. The role of Susan is one any Hollywood actress would die for, providing a full range of emotions to be expressed. Unfortunately, Judith Eisenberg, who plays the pivotal role of Susan, missed the boat.
Things happen. It was opening night. There were a few technical bloopers and could have been distracting. Maybe she just didn't have enough rehearsal time, but Eisenberg's performance was totally erratic and unbelievable. One minute she was a giddy newlywed. The next minute, she was screaming at the top of her lungs in anger. While these are realistic emotions for what her character is going through, Eisenberg offered no smooth transitions. Eisenberg showed us the far ends of the scale but skipped the important five or so in between that make this role so juicy and rich. It appeared that she was unsure of her lines, taking too long to respond to her cues from the other actors. Her energy seemed to drag and that made it difficult for the other actors to play off of. I have seen Eisenberg's growth as an actress in her four years as an Edge player and it is not that I think she is not capable of handling this role. I am left baffled and can only conclude that I just saw her on a bad night.
The growth of the actors in the Edge Projects continues; Tony Trapasso (as Brad) has matured by leaps and bounds from the first time I saw him three years ago. Trapasso does a good job as the cross-dressing Brad/Barbara, though it is clear he is more comfortable in men's clothing. He does an adequate job as Barbara, but the only difference between Barbara and Brad are the clothes. He continues with his same walk and talk, just in a dress. When he did sport a different voice or style, he fell into an over-the-top, homosexual stereotype.
The action and pacing improve greatly in the first scene of the second act. Here, we were introduced to more characters and the Brad and Susan interaction is not the focus. In contrast to Trapasso's Barbara, Lewis Lazar, who plays an "out" transvestite and friend to the couple, is far more believable as Pretty Princess. His mannerisms are right on, and he is comfortable in his slinky dress, nylons and high heels. He also happens to look more feminine, more "passable." He even went so far as to shave his underarms. Now THAT is getting into your character! Lucy Payjack did a decent job as Brad's uptight campaign manager, Joan. There were a few times that her performance seemed a bit rehearsed, but for the most part, she stayed in character and was believable. The other actors had bit parts (and few lines) as reporters and performed their two-dimension roles as expected.
While I am hesitant to be too critical of this production, I realized that PT should feel complimented. I no longer consider their work in the same realm as community or workshop Theatre. Their production staff, writers, and actors have matured greatly in just one, short year under the direction of Raymond Shurtz, I now expect more of them. For the most part, this production stood up to scrutiny. I look forward to the Festival's next show, The Fish Must Die, written and directed by Shurtz.
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