Mrs. Warren's Profession

Mrs. Warren's Profession, a 1890s period piece, gets a freshening in the Shakespeare Theatre Company production of G.B. Shaw's classic, now running at Sidney Harman Hall until July 11. The play about the world's oldest profession is tame by today's standards, but the ideas remain every bit as current. And if this isn't the best of Shaw, well, from the pen of such a commanding writer even the juvenilia is of interest or should be. But this is much, much more.

Keith Baxter has mounted a first-rate show, assembling a fine cast, cutting unneeded dialogue from the wordy script, and adding a generally entertaining back story to the eponymous heroine in the form of a musical revue. Crafted onto the play's beginning, middle, and end, the music hall numbers arranged by Kim D. Sherman and choreography of Karma Camp offer a pleasant respite from some Shavian polemics and stock characterizations. Though the lyrics are a bit muffled due to the Cockney accents of the younger Kitty, played by Caitlin Diana Doyle, and ensemble (accents don't seem to carry over in real singing), and Elizabeth Ashley no longer has the voice and range for the older woman, the overall tableaux is vibrant.

All of Shaw's socialist or Fabian views are baldly on display: the education of woman, the corruptive force of class and capitaliem, the generation gap, the art versus science debate, and the battle of the sexes. Standing in the dock is Victorian Hypocrisy: accused, tried, and convicted. There is no issue that GBS will not address or stand on its head. The chief of these is the problem of good and evil or specifically how good things can come out of bad (in art and life) and vice versa, how bad comes from good (religion and government). The script is more or less formulaic and there's not much going on until late in the show. And the characters that will be fleshed out in his later plays, particularly the strong woman and her male counterpart, are here in incipient form.

The first part of the play is leisurely - almost quaint in its format and scope. We meet Mrs. Warren's accomplished daughter Vivie (Amanda Quaid), an older architect or artist - ostensibly the voice of the writer played with diffidence by Ted van Griethuysen, an improvident suitor Frank performed with Cowardesque brio by Tony Roach, and his doddering father Rev. Samuel Gardner (David Sabin). They await the arrival of Mrs. Warren and her business partner Sir George Crofts (Andrew Boyer). Vivie has conquered Cambridge and has her sights on the world at large, only her conception of that idealized place is wanting. Frank and Mom attempt to set her straight but the flatfooted advances of Sir George will pry her eyes wide open. (Mrs. W's motherly notions of a relationship with her free-spirited daughter are a bit condescending, shall we say matronizing.) Things get jumping and the play comes alive in the second half when conflicts come to the fore, along with the obligatory recognition scenes and discovery.

Ms. Ashley's previous notices, particularly with respect to her speaking voice for the part, had given me some pause before the show. It shouldn't have for this is a small (and minor) aspect of a most accomplished actress in an affecting performance. When she stakes out her territory in the final scene, you won't fail to be moved. The mother-daughter conflicts ring crystal clear and everyone in the audience responded with a thunderous roar when she delivers the famous line "Oh, may you live to have your own daughter tear and trample on you ... And you will: you will ..."

Ms. Quaid gives a sensibly restrained portrayal of Vivie, a self-absorbed character who's easy to dislike and she plays well off of Mr. Roach who as Frank is a thoroughly enjoyable bounder, with not a lick of legitimate promise on the horizon. Mr. Sabin, a classic clown, has again found a part which seems to be written for him. What a coincidence! Mr. Van Griethuysen makes the most of his inchoate character (a big task) and Mr. Boyer portrays a convincing rogue who says the most dastardly, but true, things.

The set design of Simon Higlett and costumes of Robert Perdziola are mouth-watering, a movable feast for the eyes, which the lighting of Peter West admirably assists in the presentation. The music of Ms. Sherman together with the sound of designer Martin Desjardins provide an emotional window into Victorian society and the play's fictional world.

This intellectual treat is guaranteed to whet your appetite for more Shavian fare. Bon appetit!

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Sound check: Generally excellent, excepting high sound levels in vocal accompaniment tracks

Applause meter: Recommended, 3 ½ hands

Program notes: Outstanding, with the supplemental Asides publication

Runtime: 2 hours and 20 minutes with an intermission

Photo credit: Scott Suchman