A new season

I couldn't believe it when I read about next season's lineup at Trinity Repertory Company, which was announced this week by artistic director Curt Columbus, pictured above.

On the schedule for Dec. 5 to Jan. 11 is a play by Adam Bock, The Receptionist. Given that I haven't been a regular theatergoer for very long, what are the chances that they'd pick a play I've seen? I took in The Receptionist last fall at the Manhattan Theatre Club. I didn't realize this, but Bock has an MFA from Brown University and worked for Trinity for awhile, so I guess it makes sense.

I have to admit I didn't absolutely love The Receptionist. It was good, but it just seemed somewhat underdeveloped. The story of the mysterious goings on at the Northeast office of an unnamed company was a little vague. I got impatient with all the small talk. The resolution wasn't quite satisfying, and I left the theater a bit confused about what it all meant.

But Bock has written some great characters and injected lots of humor. It'll probably remind you of some offices you've worked in. I loved Jayne Houdyshell's wonderfully funny yet spot-on performance in the title role. I said in my review: "She's efficient, overprotective of office supplies, motherly, humorous and has plenty of advice to dispense, whether you want it or not."

I'm looking forward to giving The Receptionist a second chance. Hopefully, I'll gain a deeper appreciation for the play. I'll be able to pick up on all the little clues I missed the first time around. And the best thing about Trinity's staging is I'll be able to go to the talkback afterward and say in by best theater-snob voice: "Well, when I saw it in New York ...."

From what I've seen, Columbus puts together a good mixture of classics and new works. And Trinity always manages to put its own spin on the classics. Our Town, from a couple seasons back, is a great example. While it was pretty traditional, there was also a little something that made it unique: in this case, a two-level stage that allowed the audience to watch the actors get ready for the performance.

This is Columbus' third season at the helm. He came to Providence from Chicago's esteemed Steppenwolf Theatre Company. My regular trips to Trinity coincided with his arrival, so I feel like there's a special connection between the two of us. He hosted the talkback held after the first show I saw at Trinity in decades: Hamlet. (And yes, someone at the session did preface their comments by saying, "When I saw it in New York.")

Columbus likes to arrange his lineup around a theme. Next season, it's personal change. Associate Director Craig Watson says: "We wanted to look at plays that spoke about hope, and all the possibilities hope can bring."

One of the shows I'm most looking forward to seeing in the new season is A Raisin in the Sun, which runs from Jan. 30 to March 8. I just watched it on ABC last month, with Phylicia Rashad and Audra McDonald reprising their Tony-winning roles from the Broadway revival. They were just terrific, so compelling and believable. I think the play, about an African-American family in Chicago in the 1950s and their dreams of a better life, has great resonance today.

Raisin will be the centerpiece of Trinity's Project Discovery Plus program, which brings students to the theater and cast members to schools for workshops with students. "These themes of race and class really resonate with students who live in our cities," Watson said. "They’re dealing with these issues on a daily basis."

The Receptionist

I don't know whether Jayne Houdyshell ever worked as a receptionist in an office, but she certainly is terrific portraying one in Adam Bock's short one-act play "The Receptionist" at the Manhattan Theatre Club.

Houdyshell's portrait of Beverly Wilkins still makes me smile whenever I think about it. Almost everyone has worked in an office or been in an office with people like Wilkins. She's efficient, overprotective of office supplies, motherly, humorous and has plenty of advice to dispense, whether you want it or not.

I can just picture her sitting at her circular desk answering the phone at the Northeast office of some unnamed concern, transferring callers to voice mail, wiping down her workspace with disinfectant and keeping track of wayward pens. David Korins' excellent production design gives Houdyshell plenty of props to work with.

At first, Bock's play appears to be a celebration of the mundane. It didn't surprise me that he told Playbill he once worked as an office receptionist. He has a good ear and a good eye for what the work is like: "The thing that was so interesting is you have a lot of power, because you know everything that's going on, yet you have no power, because you're not allowed to leave your desk."

Houdyshell's Wilkins advises her young coworker Lorraine, played by a delightfully flirtatious Kendra Kassebaum, on her love life. She orders a birthday cake. She makes personal phone calls. She offers a parenting tip to Mr. Dart, played by Josh Charles, who comes calling from the central office. (Don't worry if your 4-year-old eats paste, she advises. He'll get over it.)

As the day wears on, everyone waits for the boss, Mr. Raymond, played by Robert Foxworth, to make an appearance. When he finally shows up, it becomes apparent that there's something unsettling going on in this office. That's when "The Receptionist" takes a turn from the mundane to the sinister.

Bock's point, about how horrific things can take place amid the most ordinary circumstances, about how far people are willing to "look the other way" in the course of doing their jobs, isn't original, but it is thought-provoking.

I did get a little impatient with all the small talk, and about halfway through the play, wondered when something momentous was going to happen. When it finally does occur, I didn't find the resolution completely satisfying. I ended up with more questions. For example, how much did Houdyshell's character know about what kind of work was being done there? Was she an accomplice or a bystander?

Perhaps those are the questions Bock wants the audience to answer. Although he does offer a hint in the Playbill interview: "It's easy to forget what kind of living you're making. I think it's the fear of money. In The Receptionist, the receptionist Beverly has a vested interest in keeping her safety net at work strong. She's willing to look the other way at what happens."

Bock never spells out in so many words exactly what's going on in the Northeast office, or back at the Central Office, although he does drop a clue early on, during Foxworth's short prologue. (I admit I didn't pay attention to it as closely as I should have. It's the first thing we hear, and I just wasn't attuned to its significance. I remember wondering what it had to do with the play. I must make a mental note that at the theater, I can't just press rewind and listen again.)

I have to admit that my guess about what was going on in that office turned out to be wrong. Luckily, my theatergoing companions spelled it out for me and it made perfect sense. (Which is why, whenever possible, you should have theatergoing companions).

Now that I know what's at the heart of "The Receptionist," it would be great to see it a second time, to look for all the clues I may have missed, and to once again enjoy Houdyshell's witty, endearing performance.

Pictured above are, from left, Josh Charles, Kendra Kassebaum, Jayne Houdyshell and Robert Foxworth.