Playwright: Scott Woldman. At: Artistic Home, 1376 W. Grand Ave. Tickets: 866-811-4111; www.theartistichome.org; $28-$32. Runs through: Aug. 11
"Once something like this gets into a family, it doesn't go away," the elderly Eileen Simmons declares grimly. The misfortune she laments is, indeed, passed down from one generation to the next, but while its manifestations may be physical, its source is the fairy-tale myth dictating that every woman requires a husband and children to render her complete.
Consider the history of the all-female Simmons/Sinclair household: Eileen married a Prince Charming who abused her. After leaving him, her low-wage bartender job, assured her easy access to male company and mind-bending substances. Her daughter Madelynne, vowing not to repeat these mistakes, married a Humble Jack and proceeded to abuse and reject him. Madelynne's white-collar skills now support her invalid parent and teenage daughterbarelybut young Chloe has become increasingly reclusive following a fall down the stairs precipitated by a quarrel with her boyfriendor not. Furthermore, the once-enthusiastic law student has begun to resist her mother's relentless efforts to steer her toward financial and marital success.
Scott Woldman may be the first playwright to challenge one of our society's most deeply-embedded beliefs. Certainly it's rare to hear someone suggest that the solution to domestic strife might not lie in simply trading a "bad" spouse for a "good" one. So accepting are we of "soul-mate" scenarios that we accept Chloe's upward-mobile beau and her nerdy boy-buddy at face value, never questioning the pressure imposed on the former in the pursuit of his designated social role, or the incentive for the latter to manipulate his peers' romantic notions in service of his own selfish fantasy. When Chloe and her wronged swain refuse to perpetuate a dynamic grown dysfunctional through misuse, their abstention is presented to us, not as healthy pragmatism, but tragic despaireven though, by then, we are fully cognizant of our narrators' biased perspectives.
Artistic Home could have also ignored uncomfortable speculations, playing their multifaceted text as a standard-issue weeper or creeper. Under the direction of Katherine Swan, however, Kathy Scambiatterra, Kristin Collins and Kathryn Acosta deliver complex, slyly nuanced performances highlighting the contradictions of relationships crippled by frustration and resentment. The men who chafe under their unachievable responsibilities are likewise granted depth and humanity by Joe Wiens and Conor McCahill. Theatergoers looking for no-brain melodrama can allow themselves to be fooled by the cozy kitchen and Wal-Mart wardrobes, but those unafraid to take a second look at our closely held social customs will be better rewarded.