Adapted by: Marilyn Campbell
and Linda Laundra
At: Writers' Theatre,
325 Tudor Court, Glencoe
Phone: (847) 242-6000; $45-$50
Runs through: March 28
Poet Anne Sexton (1928-1974) came to poetry relatively late in life when her therapist recommended it to her as a creative outlet for depression. But, as this portrait (excerpted from Sexton's correspondence and poetry) demonstrates, the desire for creativity was like a hunger with Sexton, who had followed the pattern set by so many of her upper-class peers in an era when a woman's primary goal was to marry well, keep house, and raise children. Sexton's depression and mental breakdowns may have had much to do with this unconscious stifling of her creative spirit. It wasn't until Sexton was 32 that she published her first book of poetry, To Bedlam and Part Way Back. The qualifying of a return from madness was typical of the often dark, quirky humor that pervaded much of her writing. By 1962, Sexton's second collection, All My Pretty Ones, was nominated for a National Book Award. But success did not diminish the demons that plagued Sexton. Unlike her contemporary, Sylvia Plath, though, Sexton was a tireless force, always pushing to keep her creativity sharp and her bouts with instability at bay.
Writers' Theater in Glencoe has shaped an arresting collage of the artist's life in this world premiere production, penned by Writers' Theatre co-founder Marilyn Campbell and Linda Laundra, and directed by the fiercely committed and talented local director, Kate Buckley. Buckley's strong hand is evident in an evening that dissects the creative spirit as well as painting a multi-faceted portrait of one of America's most talented contemporary poets.
Buckley is fortunate to have a powerful trio of women to bring Sexton to life at various stages of her maturity. Adapter Campbell portrays Sexton near the end of her life, when the poet's talent and wit had been honed razor sharp by success and disappointment. Campbell's self-assuredness effectively masks the more fragile aspects of Sexton's personality and gives us a glimpse into the duality of her spirit. As a sort of mid-life Sexton, Mary Beth Fisher is a revelation, paradoxically blending bravado and vulnerability to showcase Sexton at the peak of her creative powers (Fisher's renditions of Sexton's poetry are astonishingly sympathetic and muscular), but dragged down by the confines of her conventional life and depression. And Kymberly Mellen, young, beautiful, and winsome, brings a kind of charged, goofy brilliance to the young Sexton, mining her youth for the seeds that would flower into artistic genius.
My Own Stranger needs little more than these three to be effective (the device of using three actresses has the added benefit of allowing for discourse between the variously aged Sextons), but Buckley works with a creative team that includes Rachel Anne Healy (costumes: simple, but telling), Matthew York (a set that blends the conventional with the romantic), and Rita Pietraszek, whose lighting mirrors the emotional resonance of Sexton's journey.
Writers' Theater has scored a coup with its pitch-perfect portrait of the artist as a woman in all stages of life, bringing us not only the story of Sexton herself, but giving us a powerful vision into the artistic vision itself.