8/31/23: The Cottage
What: Jason Alexander directs a new play by Sandy Rustin, an old fashioned sex comedy with changing partners, cigarettes hidden pretty much everywhere on set, and inconsistent British accents.
And? I don't think this play (or perhaps just this production) knew whether it wanted to be a genuine sex comedy, hearkening back to Noel Coward, or if it wanted to be a parody of the genre. It's poorly enough directed that 3/4 of the jokes aren't landing properly; and the audience, though eager to have a good time, stops finding as many reasons to laugh at the same joke over and over (the surprise cigarette locations continued to amuse but oof, I could smell all that smoke from the back of the theater while wearing a KN95 mask). At the very end it seems like maybe they wanted us to care about the main character after all, but it's a hard sell, considering that up to that point no one onstage seemed to be a real person, and the stakes, though stated, are non-existent in the performance. Still, it's nice to see Laura Bell Bundy back on the boards, leading a show with perfect timing and physicality. Understudy Tony Roach also acquits himself well as Beau (normally played by Eric McCormack). It might get an awards nod for the nostalgia of Paul Tate dePoo III's scenic design, which earns immediate admiration (oohs, ahhs, and applause) from the audience as the curtain rises.
 |
| Laura Bell Bundy as Sylvia. Photo by Joan Marcus. |
No comments:
Post a Comment