Reviewed by Judy Richter
The long monologue that opens
"Or,"
begins with the title word and soon says, "Our play will shortly ricochet
between a dense array of seeming opposites." Later this new work by Liz
Duffy Adams talks
about the use of "or" in the titles of plays, referring obliquely to
its use in such works as Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night: Or, What You Will."
This
West Coast premiere presented by Magic Theatre and directed by its artistic
director, Loretta Greco, is a one-act, about 100-minute work for three actors. One of them, Natacha
Roi, portrays a
real character from 17th century English history, Aphra Behn, who was the first
woman to write professionally for the theater, according to the program notes. Ben
Huber plays two
other real characters, King Charles II of England, and William Scott, who was a
double agent for the English during the Dutch wars and who was Aphra's lover
for a time. The third actor, Maggie Mason, plays two more real characters, actress Nell
Gwynne and Lady Davenant, who succeeded her late husband as leader of the
Duke's Company theater troupe during the Restoration. She also plays Aphra's
maid, Maria, and a male jailer, seen briefly while Aphra is in debtors prison.
The
plot revolves around Aphra's romantic relationships with the king, William and
Nell. It has elements of farce with one of those three latter characters going
into hiding behind a closet or bedroom door just as another character enters.
While all this is going on, Aphra is trying to finish a play that Lady Davenant
wants to produce.
Mixed
in with all this history is both rhymed couplets in some of the dialogue as
well as distinctly modern expressions, such as "knocked up" for
"pregnant." Alex Jaeger's costumes are set in the 17th century, while Sara
Huddleston's
sound design evokes music of the time. Michael Locher keeps the set simple,
complemented by York Kennedy's light design, which occasionally mimics the flickering
of candles in the footlights.
Greco's
direction keeps the action moving smoothly, and she elicits excellent
performances from both women. Mason is terrific as Nell, seen in a boys'
costume, hilarious as the motormouth Lady Davenant and marvelous as the
decisive Maria. Huber is less effective as the two men because he doesn't
differentiate much between them and seems a bit smarmy in both roles.
Overall,
though, the play is loads of fun. The theater people who were in the opening
night audience seemed especially tickled by all the lines poking fun at actors
and the theater in general.
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