Playwright: Beth Henley
At: Strawdog Theatre Company
Phone: ( 773 ) 528-9696; $20
Runs through: May 14
Let's start with a sure thing: the visual elements of Impossible Marriage are of a standard seldom achieved in smaller Off-Loop venues, and are worth the price of admission. Scenic designer Joey Wade creates environments, not mere backdrops, and the busier the better as he's demonstrated in previous designs for The Dazzle at Steppenwolf and The Price at Writers' Theatre. This time, Wade turns every available inch of the difficult Strawdog space into a fecund southern garden of roses, lillies, hydrangea, flowering vines and spanish moss; a riot of colors and textures that Emil Boulos' lighting keeps rich and warm. Not to be outdone, Aly Greaves' superb summery costumes combine elegance, drollery and even butterfly wings.
These lush surroundings enfold an odd wedding comedy that seems begat by a self-mocking Tennessee Williams and the Bergman film, Smiles of a Summer Night. Like the Free Associates' improvised parody, Cast On a Hot Tin Roof, all the characters are Williams cliches: the kitten in a sexless marriage, the sinful parson, a faded belle, a foolish boy, a gentleman of questionable sexuality and all guilty of mendacity.
Author Beth Henley's language is sometimes mock-poetic, frequently arch and occasionally stilted. It's not how people talk, so style becomes everything. But what style? Henley bounces the play from literary parody to comedy of manners to farce, then changes tone in the closing moments with a hint of bittersweet emotion. How should one interpret these mixed signals?
Director Eric Wegener treats it as grand artifice. Under his hand, the characters are so patently artificial from the start that one doesn't care about any of them, probably a fundamental misstep. Comedy—especially farce—pays off best when the characters are as real as possible, with humor arising from piled-up circumstances. Characters should devolve into silly behavior, but shouldn't be silly themselves. Wegener and cast emphasize the play's eccentricities, which makes it hollow rather than funny.
Might Henley have intended something more genuine, perhaps similar to Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo? There are hints in the play's closing minutes and in several performances. Mother of the bride Lynne Hall's dour and dry Southern matron perfectly suits her characters' circumstances. Chris Hainsworth's courtly and knowing southern gentleman, both sensible and gracious, suggests the play might be deeper. Loretto Rizo as the bride's pregnant sister rises to the shifting tone in Act II. For the rest, they are capable, earnest and do as they've been told.
Impossible Marriage has quirky appeal with some good lines and effective comic moments, especially when farce elements briefly coalesce in Act II, and it looks gorgeous. But some core element is missing, perhaps from the play itself, perhaps from this interpretaion, perhaps from both.
