Absurd Person Singular

Absurd Person Singular at Trinity Rep
Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

I laughed my way through Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy The Norman Conquests on Broadway. So when I saw a work by the prolific British playwright on Trinity Rep's schedule, my excitement level went sky high.

Set in the mid 1970s in London, Absurd Person Singular takes place in the kitchens of three married couples hosting Christmas Eve parties in successive years. And once again, I laughed all the way through. (If you ever get a chance to see an Ayckbourn play, take it!)

Director Brian McEleney keeps everything moving at a brisk clip and the cast really nails Ayckbourn's slapstick humor.

Sidney (Stephen Berenson) and Jane (Angela Brazil) are desperate to make a good impression so they can obtain a bank loan to expand their grocery store. Geoffrey (Fred Sullivan Jr.), married to the depressed Eva (Phyllis Kay), is a successful architect who boasts about his womanizing. Ronald (Timothy Crowe) and Marion (Anna Scurria) are the snobby banker and his wife.

Ayckbourn has a great knack for bringing out the absurdity in the most ordinary people and mundane events, making comedy out of situations that on the surface don't seem funny: alcoholism, depression, financial woes.

He paints a great portrait of the tension - beneath the surface and boiling over - that exists during these holiday get-togethers: the frantic preparations, the small talk, the silly party games and the person who always has too much to drink.

While I don't think there's any deep message in this play it is interesting to see the changes that occur over the three acts. Marriages are strained, the way the couples relate to each other changes, fortunes rise and fall.

One of the things I appreciated most about Absurd Person Singular is what it leaves to the audience's imagination.

There's a ferocious-sounding dog in Act II that we never see. And at a couple of points during Act I, the actors leave the stage. The only sound is the chatter of partygoers in the adjoining room.

When that happened it was surprising and kind of unsettling - I was staring at an empty set for a minute. Yet at the same time I found it kind of thrilling as I wondered what would happen next.

At the theatre, I don't think you can ask for anything better than that.

Three extra special 2010 Tony Awards

Awards season on Broadway is kicking into high gear and I'm thrilled with three that were announced today. Congratulations to Alan Ayckbourn and Marian Seldes, who will receive 2010 Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre and to David Hyde Pierce, this year's recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Award.

The Isabelle Stevenson Award recognizes an individual from the theatre community who has volunteered time and effort on behalf of a charitable, humanitarian or social service organization.

I've enjoyed the work of all three on Broadway: British playwright Ayckbourn for his hilarious trilogy The Norman Conquests, Seldes as a retired tennis pro in Deuce, and Hyde Pierce in his Tony-winning performance in the musical Curtains.

I've also had a chance to meet Seldes and Hyde Pierce and they are incredibly gracious and generous with their time.

Hyde Pierce is being honored for his work in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, which claimed the lives of his father and grandfather. He's a board member of the Alzheimer's Association and has worked on the local and national level advocating for additional funding for research and care programs.

Ayckbourn, Seldes and Hyde Pierce have all been guests on the American Theatre Wing's Downstage Center program. If you'd like to learn more about their lives and their contributions to the theatre, those interviews are a great place to start.

Trinity Rep 2010-2011 season

Providence's Trinity Repertory Company has announced the lineup for its 47th season. Here's the 2010-2011 schedule along with the description from the news release:

Camelot
Lerner & Lowe
Sept. 10 - Oct. 10

King Arthur has everything – peace, prosperity and a happy marriage… but will the arrival of the handsome, brash Sir Lancelot change Camelot forever?

Absurd Person Singular
Alan Ayckbourn
Oct. 15 - Nov. 21

It’s a dark and stormy night – perfect for a festive holiday party! This hilarious comedy romp follows three married couples through three disastrous Christmas parties, as they drink, frolic, and fight their way to… holiday cheer?

It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
Joe Landry
December

This unique stage adaptation is performed as a radio play, broadcast on Christmas Eve, 1946. Everyman George Bailey gets the chance to see what the world would be like if he’d never been born.

The Crucible
Arthur Miller
Feb. 4 - March 13, 2011

Fear stalks the people of Salem, Massachusetts. Is it the work of the devil? Or has hysteria, malice, and one young woman’s lust started a chain of events that will undo a whole community? (This is the centerpiece of the Project Discovery program that brings students to the theatre and actors into classrooms.)

Yellowman
Dael Orlandersmith
Feb. 25 - April 3, 2011

Growing up in a small South Carolina town, Eugene and Alma find friendship, solace, and even love in each other. But he is light-skinned, and she is dark. Can their love survive the weight of the world?

Steel Magnolias
Robert Harling
April 15 - May 15, 2011

On her wedding day, Shelby is a vision in pink – two lovely shades! Her mother and friends gather at Truvy’s Beauty Salon to prepare for the big day. Still, beauty, hairspray, and all the pink in the world can’t protect this young woman from what lies ahead.

The Completely Fictional - Utterly True - Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe
Stephen Thorne
May 6 - June 5, 2011

Edgar Allan Poe has been missing for seven days. And that’s just the beginning of a journey that leads him to the bizarre, the macabre, and the sublime. Where is Poe going? To hell, to heaven… and back. (Thorne is a member of the acting company and this is his first play.)

So, what excites me the most?

Well Camelot, definitely, since I love the movie and I've never seen the musical onstage. Trinity Rep's artistic director Curt Columbus says, "We will be stripping away all of the expected trappings of traditional knights and fair maidens to focus on the complicated love triangle set in a world of political intrigue.''

I'm looking forward to British playwright Alan Ayckbourn's farce Absurd Person Singular. He's become a favorite of mine since I saw The Norman Conquests on Broadway last summer. The three plays were hilarious and together, they were one of my favorite theatergoing experiences.

I'm intrigued by the idea of presenting It's A Wonderful Life as a 1940s radio play. As someone who's not really into the annual production of A Christmas Carol, it's nice to have an alternative.

And the subject of Dael Orlandersmith's Yellowman, a 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist, sounds interesting. In the New York Times, Ben Brantley called the play "a hard and piercing drama about intraracial prejudice."

The Norman Conquests on television

Nothing brings home the power of theatre like seeing the same play on stage and on television.

Since I loved The Norman Conquests on Broadway I figured I could re-live the experience by watching another version of Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy on the small screen with a different cast. Wrong!

I'm in the middle of the 1978 British television production. (I got the VHS tapes from the library - used copies start at $195 on Amazon.)

Wow, what a difference! These three plays that cover one weekend at a house in the country were so much better live.

Part of it is the quality. The picture on the tapes isn't exactly the sharpest. Plus, I'm watching them at home, so it's easier to get distracted.

And the six-person cast of the Broadway revival was so perfect. I really don't think anyone in this production can compare.

As Norman, Tom Conti is more low-key and annoying, whereas on stage, Stephen Mangan was endearing and a bit manic. I've liked Conti in other roles but as Norman, Mangan gave one of the best performances I've ever seen.

I realize there's a big difference between film/tv and stage acting and you can't really compare them. But there's something thrilling about having the actors right there in front of you.

And on Broadway, director Matthew Warchus ramped things up. The dialogue seemed sharper, the action more hilarious. Whereas on television, it's kind of bland and slow and not all that funny or vibrant.

Most importantly, theatre is a communal activity.

Watching the plays on television makes me realize how much my enjoyment comes from simply being in a room with hundreds of other people, joining in their gasps and laughter and exhilaration.

Wintertime theatergoing

The weather outside can be frightful so I'll probably be staying close to home for my theatergoing during the first few months of 2010. But there are shows I'm looking forward to seeing without having to venture too far:

Dead Man's Cell Phone, at Trinity Repertory Company. I saw Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House at Trinity Rep a few years ago and I really enjoyed the quirky characters and story she created. Just from the title, this play sounds intriguing.

The Glass Menagerie, at the Gamm Theatre. I've never seen a Tennessee Williams play on stage and I feel like he's one of those classic American playwrights whose work I should know. So hopefully this will be a good introduction.

Xanadu, at the Providence Performing Arts Center. I missed this musical on Broadway and from everything I've read, it sounded like fun. Plus, the action takes place in a roller disco so the actors will be on skates. Perfect for a winter afternoon.

Comic Potential, at the 2nd Story Theatre. I've never been to this theatre but an Alan Ayckbourn play might just be the push I need. I loved The Norman Conquests on Broadway last year and I'm eager to sample some more of his work.

Becky Shaw, at the Huntington Theatre Company. Gina Gionfriddo's comedy about a blind date that goes awry was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and garnered good reviews in New York, where it was directed by Peter DuBois. He's bringing it to Boston in his capacity as the Huntington's artistic director.

Dreamgirls, at the Colonial Theatre. I liked the movie and now I'm curious to see this musical about the rise of a 1960s Motown girl group on stage, where it began. I'm thinking there's something special about hearing a live version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.''

Two musicals I'm probably going to skip are 101 Dalmations and Beauty and the Beast at PPAC. After a performance of Annie in May attended by children who were way too young to be there, I'm really not in the mood.

The Norman Conquests

Gratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****

I never intended to see even one part of British playwright Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy The Norman Conquests when it transferred to Broadway from London's Old Vic Theatre.

The plot didn't particularly interest me and the thought of seeing three plays in one day was daunting. (Never mind standing in line at the ladies room for three bathroom breaks.)

But then the reviews started coming in - from my fellow bloggers and other theatergoers I respect. They were so enthusiastic, beginning with Broadway & Me, that I thought well, it'll be an experience - my first theatre marathon. I'd be at Circle in the Square from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., with breaks for lunch and dinner.

(Plus, I got to share the experience with my blogging buddy Chris, of Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals. We had a fun lunch at Vynl. Then, dinner at Pigalle with Steve On Broadway, the love of his life and some very tasty grilled yellowfin tuna. A win, win, win.)

The plays - Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden - were written and take place in 1973. They are set at different times on the same weekend in different parts of the same house. The same six characters are in all three and I knew within the first hour that I'd love spending time with them.

I definitely related to the frazzled Annie, played by Jessica Hynes, who cares for her needy but unseen mother and desperately needs a break. Ben Miles plays Tom, Annie's possible suitor, a taciturn veterinarian who seems ill at ease around people and animals.

Annie's brother Reg is played by Paul Ritter in a self-centered way that reminded me a bit of the character Ricky Gervais portrays in the British version of The Office. Reg and his wife Sarah, a prim and somewhat bossy Amanda Root, come for the weekend so that Annie can get away.

Also on hand is Annie and Reg's sister Ruth, played by Amelia Bullmore, whose nearsightedness causes many comic moments. She's just about at the end of her rope when it comes to her lothario of a husband Norman, an assistant librarian played brilliantly by Stephen Mangan.

While the entire cast is superb, Mangan was my favorite. Bearded, unkempt, with a wild head of hair, he is such a physical, expressive actor. And he delivers a performance that I will never forget.

From the way the other characters talk about him, I was prepared to despise Norman. But Mangan makes him sympathetic and charming, totally honest, lacking in guile and quite sensitive - even if he is an unscrupulous cad at times. I could never hate Norman - only love him.

I'm a fairly easy theatergoer to satisfy - just don't bore me. It's a tribute to the wonderful ensemble - and director Matthew Warchus - that even after seven hours, I never got tired of watching these six distinct, vivid personalities interact.

There was always something unexpected, some wound to be reopened, some revelation, some argument to break out - often with hilarious consequences, some new person for Norman to seduce. The plot that I didn't think would interest me, well, I ended up being totally absorbed. It was so much fun to sit there all day and watch this story unfold.

The plays are witty and hilarious with a lot of physical humor. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard, so often, sometimes to the point of tears. But Ayckbourn also gives us some very serious moments when you truly get a sense of these characters' anxieties.

The Norman Conquests turned out to be one of the best and most unique theatergoing experiences I've had. I'm so glad I didn't miss it. Because it was in the round and because I spent so much time with them, I feel like I got to know these characters so well.

But I'm afraid that the popularity of the "trilogy days" may have led people to believe that if you can't see all three, it's not worth seeing any of them. And that's absolutely not true.

If you can only see one, I recommend Table Manners, which I think stands best on its own. Unfortunately, The Norman Conquests, which won the Tony award for Best Revival of a Play, closes on July 26. So you haven't got much more time.