L’Amour ‘A Passy—Ben Franklin in Love (and Lust)

"L’Amour à Passy" by G.W. Reed, directed by Manfred Bormann. G.W. Reed as Benjamin Franklin, Musa Gurnis as Madame Brillon. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

By Bart Greenberg***Suggested by history, L’Amour ‘A Passy is all about the relationship between American ambassador Benjamin Franklin and Mme. Hardancourt Brillon, his neighbor in the small town of Passy on the outskirts of Paris. The two-hander, at The Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres, directed by Manfred Bormann, was written by, and stars, GW Reed, with Dr. Musa Gurnis as the distaff half of the play.

In 1776, Benjamin Franklin had been sent to France to negotiate a treaty, as well as gain supplies and funding for the American Revolution. It is now four years on—1780 and the war continues to rage across the ocean with the outcome very much in doubt (in fact, it doesn’t end until September 1783). While the 74-year old Franklin still struggles with obtaining backing from the French government and returning to what has now been declared the united States of America, his multiple physical ailments and his obsession with his beguiling neighbor (and in time hostess), Mme Brillon, form the center of the play.

Franklin first encounters Hardancourt in a meet-cute moment—straight out of the rom-com handbook—when she loses a brooch given to her by her husband. After some confusion, due to a language barrier easily pierced, they establish a quick friendship based on his fame and her wit. She is a composer and a chess player (they play two games during the course of the show, one in her bathtub), a bit of a coquette and unhappily married to a man who doesn’t appreciate her qualities. Before long, she is calling him “Papa” and he is having feelings that are far from paternal. Somehow, this all figures into off-stage court intrigue involving the Queen (Marie Antoinette), Dr. Franz Messmer and Hardancourt’s own mysterious illness. Yes, sadly the storytelling is rather muddled.

This is one of those productions where the parts do not add up to a satisfying whole, starting with the method of the storytelling. At some points the players address the audience directly—breaking the sanctity of the fourth wall. There is even one startling moment during a highly dramatic scene where the leading lady refers to the audience’s reaction, which jolts those assembled out of the play. At various times the script is romantic comedy, sometimes romantic drama, and, in the second act, verges on being a mystical poetry play. Each style is well written, but they don’t necessarily meld well together. With the very loose dramatic plot line, this demands a great deal of adjustment on the part of the viewers.

Reed has obviously written L’Amour ‘A Passy as a vehicle for himself. His Franklin is unabashedly American, witty, and both smart and foolish, but his lustful intentions are a bit embarrassing. Reed seems very contemporary, with barely a hint of the period the piece is set in. What he unfortunately lacks is the dazzling charisma that the original genius and multi-tasker reputedly possessed. On the other hand, Gurnis is abundant in charisma and charm, and when required, can reach surprising depths of emotion when the script allows—and she seems to have come to the stage directly from the 18^th century.

The show’s physicality is nicely presented by Harry Feiner (Design Advisor), Matthew Deinhart (Lighting Design), Cliff Hahn (Sound Design) and especially Anthony Paul-Cavaretta (Costume Design— although one would think there would be a housemaid in the Brillon household who could iron Franklin’s very wrinkled nightshirt). Bormann directed with a light hand, keeping the action moving through various locations; however, the 15 minute intermission in a show of less than two hours seemed an unnecessary delay, especially since, notably, very few members of the audience left their seats. Bormann wasn’t able to solve the problems within the script, an unlikely task for any director as it’s now written. Perhaps Reed will learn from the audience reaction and revise the script through another pass of his quill pen before the next production. There is certainly a great deal of value to be found in the material.