By Marilyn Lester***A stellar convergence: The Pearl Theater Company meets The Resident Acting Company meets Eugene Ionescu and Theater of the Absurd. The result: a whopping gem of a production of The Bald Soprano at The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture. Absurd it is, and a hilarious huzzah as a half dozen perfectly-cast actors thoroughly bring the playwright’s intention to razor-sharp life. As the now 94-year-old master of farce, Britain’s Ray Cooney, has oft disclosed, the key to farce is in playing it completely straight. And that’s exactly what this commanding ensemble has nailed under the smart direction of Resident Artistic Director, Bradford Cover.
The ensemble collective, The Resident Acting Company, is comprised of actors who’ve been working together for many years. Thay’re an extension of the award-winning The Pearl Theatre Company, founded in 1984, which after 33 seasons morphed into the Resident company—and so is well-positioned to tackle the ethos of the existentially-grounded Theater of the Absurd, a post World War Two movement rooted in cultural disillusionment. Ionescu, a Romanian-French playwright, was struck by such absurdity as he tried to learn English via the Assimil conversational method of repetition. Voilá the verbal comedy The Bald Soprano emerged, in which clichés, contradictions, non sequiturs, repetitions and illogic become the poster child of humanity’s foibles—as relevant today as ever.
The opening, the sitting room of the suburban London home of Mrs. Smith (Rachel Botchan) and Mr. Smith (Dominic C
uskern) finds the couple seated in their armchairs. While Mrs. Smith busies herself with her sewing and Mr. Smith reads the Times of London, the inane and repetitive conversation becomes increasingly heated. Meanwhile, a clock chimes intermittently 17 times without apparent meanimg. The entrance of a cockney maid, Mary (Carine Montbertrand), serves as an entr’acte for the following couple, Mrs. Martin (Anique Clements) and Mr. Martin (Andy Paterson), who curiously and coincidentally discover they are actually married. The two couples next enjoy a visit together, interrupted by the Fire Chief ( Dan Daily). A recitation of bizzare stories ensues, Mary delivers a ghastly poem titled “The Fire” and the rest is chaos and a clever twist. What does it all mean? Ask the Fire Chief as he leaves, enquiring about “the bald soprano,” to which Mrs. Smith replies “she always wears her hair in the same style.”
Played in three-quarter round, the intimate space of The Frank Shiner Theater at The Sheen Center well suits this window on the mundane—not so mundane. The simple, yet highly-effective set is by Harry Feiner who also designed the lighting. Composer of incidental music and sound design is by PJ Ju and solidly-effective costuming by Jeremy Pitzer, whose gear for the Fire Chief is superbly impressive.
The Bald Soprano at The Frank Shiner Theater at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street, NYC ) plays through Sunday, November 1. Tickets are $65.87 (inclusive of fees) and can be purchased here: racnyc.org
Photos by Al Foote III
