Playwright: Edward Bulwer-Lytton
At: Remy Bumppo at the Storefront,
66 E. Randolph
Phone: (312) 742-8497: $15
Runs through: March 29
Money is what is called a well-made play, an early 19th Century term for works in which the twists and devices of the plot are as tightly-meshed as the gears of a fine clock. In well-made plays, believable emotions are secondary to rational actions dictated by honor, obligation, or circumstance. As psychological realism developed in the late 19th Century, character came to rule the roost over plot and the well-made play largely was tossed aside.
What a shame! For well-made plays can be wonderfully theatrical, suspenseful and entertaining. They also are challenging style pieces with elevated language, and characters who wear their motivations entirely on their sleeves. It's material that requires experienced players. Fortunately, director James Bohnen and his cast are right on the Money.
Written in 1840 by the man who coined, "The pen is mightier than the sword," Money combines social satire and light drama, and actually is better-than-average at establishing real characters within the plot mechanics. It's set in London and concerns Alfred, a poor young man of good family who declares his love to Clara, his equally poor distant cousin. Hiding her own love, Clara rejects him because of their mutual poverty. Immediately, Alfred inherits a fortune. Still, Clara appears to scorn him as he turns his attentions to another. Will true love win out? Which woman loves him for himself, and which for his wealth? Money is the Joe Millionaire of its age.
The very handsome Remy Bumppo production features Judith Lundberg's elegant costumes, capturing the sumptuous age of young Queen Victoria, before she—and society—donned black widow's weeds. The long lines of fashion drape gracefully on the men and women alike of this tall ensemble. Only the modern shoes betray the limits of the costume budget. Scenic designer Tim Morrison enhances his simple polished wood platforms with tasteful furniture of period flavor, and two side drops featuring drawings of the Bank of England and Ludgate Hill, then (and still) the centers of British finance.
Of course, anyone can buy the look; this large company talks the talk, too, once you become accustomed to the room's dodgy acoustics and the pronounced Brit accents. Raymond Fox and Laura Lamson are resolute as the unhappy lovers; cagey Joe Van Slyke is a manipulative aristocrat; Renee Prince is his golden-locked daughter on-the-make; Annabel Armour and David Darlow are the droll older, wiser couple; Mark L. Montgomery is a peacock blue blood; Brendan Averett, Timothy Jon, Christian Gray and Nick Sandys provide solid support. Bohnen's knowing direction is brisk but never rushed, and the stage never looks cluttered even when full. Money's political subplot is dispensable today, but the central story of wealth and status remains remarkably pertinent. This well-made is well played.