Becky Shaw

The Wilma Theater has brought to life a highly entertaining production of Becky Shaw (to 2/7), Gina Gionfriddo's dark comedy of social mores among the little folk (you and me), which attempts to "define deviancy down." In this material world, the crimes are not so much about property as those perpetrated against the heart. Loosely suggested by William Thackeray's Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, the present day antiheros are on the make through money management, education, entertainment, and the best, and most time-honored way, marriage.

Directed by Anne Kauffman with deftness and verve, this verbally agile production shows every character to his or her best disadvantage. Solidly cast - particularly the roles of Max (Jeremy Bobb), Susan (Janis Dardaris ), and Becky (Brooke Bloom) - each of the characters has a unique linguistic style and cadence and a surprisingly peculiar manner of delivery. Though they swat it up, no one's really listening; it sounds at times like so many monologues.

DC area theatergoers will be familiar with Ms. Gionfriddo's earlier work After Ashley and Ms. Kauffman's direction of Stunning, by Daniel Adjmi, both performed in the last few years at the Woolly Mammoth. And this edgy, new play will doubtless make it down to the District or the suburbs before too long.

The suggestion in advertisements that this is blind date gone bad play is as misleading as it is trivial. The "date" is a MacGuffin, a plot element to catch our attention (and it does!) but really has nothing to do with the story. The play's about manipulation - how we use others to gain our ends. Indeed, the action opens with such an extended set-up of the financial predicaments of the Slater family you may think you've walked into the wrong theater.

Drama queen daughter Suzanna (Danielle Skraastad) is morosely mourning the death of her improvident father and pecking at her sharp-tongued mother Susan, while her adoptive brother Max attempts to sort things out. Mr. Bobb's character is a go-to guy in the ways of the world and the playwright has given him many choice lines which the actor admirably delivers with Jacobean villainy (hiss!). He's honed those skills to keep those around him in his debt. His adoptive sister - she's a reluctant doctoral psych student - and step-mother, who has quickly jumped into the arms of a wastrel con-artist are only too happy to oblige. When the matriarch exits (her degenerative disease suggestive more of a movement disorder than MS) following a standoff with her charges, the abrasive Max moves to put "sis" further in his sway in a surprising twist.

Fast forward 8 months and Suzanna is now married to Andrew (Armando Riesco), a barista turned office manager, and writer manque. Andrew is a Dudley Do-right of sorts, at home and at work and in no time he and his wife have conspired to set-up Max with a co-worker (temp) Becky on a double date. Ms. Bloom delivers an exquisitely awkward portrayal of nerves and faux pas as she meets the gang. But ... just when you think she's talked her way out of everyone's lives for good - especially Max who seems to level her with repeated , almost instinctual putdowns, Ms. Bloom's character delivers one insightful comment after another regarding the emotional lives of those under discussion. With everyone's interest piqued, Andrew and Suzanna decide to leave the ill-suited pair to an un-chaperoned evening on the town as we close out the first half.

Ms. Gionfriddo's plot takes a few sharp and unexpected turns in Act II as life's random circumstances intervene, and the naïve luster of Becky's persona start to fade. Before too long, Max, Andrew, and Suzanna find themselves in a world reminiscent of Fatal Attraction as Ms. Bloom peels off the layers of her character's past. And it continues to spiral downward in a lengthy final scene that strains credibility, though you will enjoy many laughs (the mother and Becky turn out to be soul mates) and home truths served up along the way, especially from the arch performance of Ms. Dardaris. While many morals are under consideration in the story, one comes to the fore: No good deed goes unpunished.

Though billed as rumination on class, the play is more a look at socio-economic status and personal morality. Most of characters want something more, but they lack the initiative to attain it. Suzanna, Andrew, and especially Becky each hate their jobs or profession (and maybe themselves), and each looks for an easy way out, usually at the expense of another. The generational issues are on display: there's a sense of entitlement exhibited by the youngsters that is out of all proportion to their merits. The mother wants her share too, but she at least has paid her dues. For all his faults, Max is the most responsible character on stage. He's the only one who cares about his work, is successful, and takes on family responsibility.

Mimi Lien's rotating set is a marvel, indicative of the constrained world the characters inhabit. The use of hallways and passageways as the actors move between scenes and changing sets is particularly arresting. The sound design of Christopher Colucci incorporates humorous musical quotes and a sense of the dramatic with fantasias and keyboard arpeggios. Costumer Emily Rebholz whips up a coordinated collection to match the sets. Her confection for the eponymous character's entrance is the pièce de résistance. Thom Weaver's lighting penetrates the arc of each scene, the only area where there are no shades of gray; titular highlighting of scenes helps clarify the action.

A sense of paradox hangs over the play: marriage, intimacy, security, fidelity, and values are all given a bracing look. In the end, you'll find more questions than answers. But that seems to be the way of the world or at the very least this one.

Sound check: Excellent

Program notes: Excellent hardcopy with Q & A from the playwright and director and online presence, including videos with director and cast, to enhance your understanding of the play

Applause meter: Highly recommended, 3 ½ + Hands. Check out Wilma Theater's website www.wilmatheater.org or call 215-546-7824. The entertainment quotient is high - directing, acting, design - outweighing some blemishes (including numerous gratuitous F-bombs) in this otherwise scintillating script.

Runtime: About 2 hours and 15 minutes with an intermission.

Photo credits: Jim Roese