Monday, January 21, 2008

Theater Review: An Infinite Ache

I admit I accepted the assignment to review Rover Dramawerks' An Infinite Ache without researching it. I inferred, or hoped, from its title, that it might be a modern staging of a Moliere classic. Imagine my dismay when I learned it was a single act comedy about twenty-something romance penned by a career television writer, David Schulner, responsible for "Desperate Housewives." I can't say I entered the Cox Playhouse in Plano with great enthusiasm, but I did hope that this play might at least be pleasantly staged.

I love good surprises, and this production more than fits that description. It's a light treatment of serious subjects "love, commitment, life's passage replete with unexpected sorrows and unmet expectations" but it presents these weighty issues with rollicking humor garnished with believable moments of pathos and truth. It offers no grandiose, pat answers but presents "modern" life as it is, or as it could be, through the perspectives of a twenty-something couple at the conclusion of a less than earth-shattering arranged first date. It's an utterly charming success.

The Cox Playhouse is an open black box space with a very high ceiling. Director Lisa Devine envisioned her production three quarters in the round with all action focused on the bed the couple shares throughout their hypothetical life together. Intimacy is maintained effortlessly. Delicate draped strands of shiny red ribbon cascade down from the catwalks above, defining the playing space and reinforcing its playful, dream-like quality, a lyrical touch.

The two actors, Debbie Cheng as Hope and Clayton Shane Farris as Charles, run a veritable marathon of costume, age, relational role and prop changes from one side of the ribbon-defined square and back. The script demands highly sophisticated focus from its two performers: mood shifts and time's passage occur in rapid-fire succession, often in non sequitur fashion. It would not be easy to recover a dropped line or miss an entrance or exit performing this show. Once the actors launch the first scene in "his" studio apartment, they are committed to a rollercoaster ride of detailed sequences with hardly room to catch breath or think, just leap in, relate and react. The actors are well matched; they demonstrate talent, range and professional acumen exceptionally well. An object or garment, appearing casually dropped in one scene, is actually a carefully pre-set prop for the next. It was great fun to watch this pair go through such a detailed, choreographed, swift exercise with total confidence and ease while portraying multi-dimensional, realistic characters at the same time. High fives to both actors and their director. Observing the rapt audience, some dabbing at eyes with Kleenex, many chortling in recognition of human foible, I realized it was perfectly okay if I wasn't watching an updated Moliere production. I was enjoying an entertaining performance with an enthralled audience, all of us having a wonderful time. I do love a good surprise.

Mr. Farris' character Charles poignantly muses over the Jewish concept of besharit throughout the play, roughly translated as "what is meant to be." Playwright Schulner does not attempt to define love as an actively earnable, achievable goal, but as an emotional state that can develop as life gets lived, a vital part of "what is meant to be." The play concludes without dour or sappy predictions about the young couple's future. It clearly portrays that we all share the potential for love in our lives, and it will indeed come if it is besharit. Enjoy Rover Dramawerks' smart, hip production with someone you could love.

Purchase tickets online or by calling 972-849-0358.

Alexandra Bonifield is an independent stage reviewer and arts advocate, romantic in recovery.