One thing is certain. You should feel incredibly normal after spending two hours with Edward Albee's dysfunctional menagerie in his rarely produced 1980 play, "The Lady From Dubuque."
If you have a dark side, you can revel in Albee's trademark vitriolic dialogue. If you are the cheerful sort, you can relish the play's humorous moments and give thanks for your optimistic friends. You won't find much joy or poignancy in Albee territory. But you will find mystery, misery, venom and intelligent dialogue, often laced with brilliant wit and comedic absurdity.
David Esbjornson directs the play with a savvy understanding that tragedy can beget humor - and vice versa. He also steered the 2002 Tony-winning Broadway production of Albee's "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?"
Although "The Lady From Dubuque" doesn't deliver the theatrical clout of Albee's piercing 1961 Tony-winning play and 1966 film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," the drama does provoke the mind. Basically, it unfolds like a verbal jousting, triggering metaphorical questions that, for the most part, are never answered. And if you're familiar with Albee's work, you will also see a resemblance to "A Delicate Balance."
As the curtain goes up on 1970s suburbia in the modernistic chrome-and-leather home of a young yuppie couple, Sam and his terminally ill wife Jo are hosting two other couples - Fred and Carol and Oscar and Lucinda - at a cocktail party. Sparked by the word game 20 Questions, old animosities and competitions reemerge. Jo's physical pain increases, as does her anger, and soon she is verbally attacking her guests one by one.
But these presumably close friends often abuse one another under the guise of cleverness. It's all part of their ongoing psy-chological caprice - who can make the pithiest re-mark after several drinks? "Where else can I come in this cold world, week after week, as regular as patchwork," quips Fred the so-called floozy-bopper, "and be guaranteed ridicule and contempt?"
With the exception of Fred's sexy girlfriend Carol and maybe Jo's devastated husband Sam, this Albee tribe is not particularly likeable. Understandably, the dying Jo is alternatively vulnerable and volatile. Fred can be vulgar and common. Lucinda is sensitive and defensive with no sense of humor, while her husband Edgar is a decent sort who thinks of himself as the "village martyr."
In typical Pirandello style, the actors sometimes comment and confide directly to the audience, often in the form of a question. As the "games" get progressively hostile, the guests finally leave. But just before the first act ends, a fourth couple suddenly appears - a sophisticated older woman garbed in all-white and her mysterious African American male companion, Oscar. She claims to be Elizabeth, the Lady from Dubuque (Iowa) - and Jo's mother. But Sam has his doubts about her identity.
So who are these clever intruders? Thieves? Murderers? Relatives? House Inspectors? None of the above. Although it's never explained, you decide they are angels of death come to ease Jo's passing and Sam's despair. But don't think of "Touched by an Angel." This chatty duo spews witty repartee about the Russian Revolution and Hitler, quotes William Blake with sarcastic irreverence and speaks fluent Japanese.
The wonderful performances of seasoned thespians Myra Carter and Frank X in the roles of Elizabeth and Oscar are well worth the price of admission. The production comes to life in their capable hands, as they side-step every query about their true identities with witty agility and sublime delivery. Incidentally, this is not Carter's first Albee turn; she co-starred in the criti-cally acclaimed New York pro-duction of "Three Tall Women."
Chelsey Rives, a bright new theatrical talent in Seattle, also deserves special mention. As Carol, the brunette bimbo girlfriend of chauvinistic Fred, she's the most endearing presence onstage. Rives has wonderful timing and a believability that resonates with the audience.
Albee is a great playwright, but "The Lady From Dubuque" is not his greatest effort. The original 1980 Broadway production opened to lukewarm reviews and ran only 20 performances. Still, if you have ever lost a loved one to cancer, the play should speak to you on some level. You may feel Jo's anguish and sympathize with her husband Sam's inability to cope with her illness and accept her impending death.
But despite the fine direction and some talented performers, this Albee work, so laden with anger and artifice, ultimately fails to astonish the audience and emotionally engage the soul.
'The Lady From Dubuque'
Seattle Repertory Theatre through Feb. 10, tickets: $10-$48, 443-2222, 1-877-900-9285 or seattlerep.org
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