THEATRE REVIEW:
KPBS
AIRDATE: March 26, 2004
Theater is all
about illusion, and so, quite often, is love. We all see what we want to see,
believe what we want to believe, even in the face of hard-edged reality. This
theme recurs, poignantly, in three knockout productions currently on San Diego
stages. What we expect of a lover, a mother, a woman, a man is not always what
we get. But we're all capable of imagining that what we've got is what we
desire.
No play covers
this stark turf more powerfully than "M. Butterfly," the fact-based,
shocking story of a French diplomat who falls in love with a Chinese Opera star
and even after a 20-year affair, refuses to believe that his lover is a spy --
and a man. In a wonderfully felicitous collaboration, Asian American Repertory
Theatre and Diversionary Theatre have mounted a compelling production that
underscores the fantasy of the submissive Asian, framed as a deconstruction of
the Puccini opera, "Madama Butterfly." In a finely etched
performance, Jesse MacKinnon makes us sympathize with the poor, delusional
Gallimard, and Diep Huynh plays weak but is really exceedingly strong as the
object of his affection, the demurely duplicitous but irresistible Song Liling.
A lovely production, capably directed by Doren Elias.
Misconceptions
of the roles and expectations of men and women feature prominently in the
politically-charged "Kiss of the Spider Woman," in a spectacular
production at 6th @ Penn Theatre. Manuel Puig's drama is set in a
South American prison cell, where a gay window-dresser and a macho
revolutionary are forced by confinement to confront their illusions, their
inner demons and each other. Excellently directed by Doug Hoehn and
magnificently acted by Douglas Lay and Giancarlo Ruiz.
Stereotypes
also abound in Neil Simon's rarely-produced comic drama, "The Gingerbread
Lady." Although it's replete with the playwright's signature one-liners,
this 1970 play takes on a very touchy topic -- alcoholism. A brash, blowzy
former chanteuse has just returned from 10 weeks in rehab. Without sex or
direction, she soon falls off the wagon and goes on a horrific bender that's
punctuated by wickedly self-deprecating humor. These days, it's less than
funny… and extremely discomforting. But the part is perfectly played by Sandra
Ellis-Troy, and a terrific ensemble supports her efforts and enables her fall.
Her daughter, gracefully portrayed by Amanda Sitton, is a teenager more mature
than her parent, who still sees the potential for a dream mother, despite the
nightmarish inebriate she's stuck with. Renaissance Theatre's George Flint
directs with a sure hand and an excellent sense of comic timing, though the
piece itself is problematic.
All three plays
are masterful studies in self-deception. By way of explanation, "M.
Butterfly's" Gallimard said it best: "Perhaps," he mused,
"happiness is so rare, our minds will turn somersaults to protect
it."
©2004 Patté
Productions Inc.