The Geffen’s two current productions are separated by a lot more than the wall between the playhouse’s two venues. Neil LaBute’s Wrecks is a memoir of a marriage told completely from the viewpoint of one man - the widower. Joanna Murray-Smith’s The Female of the Species is a comedy/farce/discussion told from six distinctive points of view - those of three women and three men.
Despite the differences between the plays, both will trigger conversations about gender roles and sexuality. And their juxtaposition serves as a handy illustration of the advantages of multi-character plays (multilogues?) over monologues. Yes, I prefer The Female of the Species.
Conflicting viewpoints in a play are almost always more interesting than the single perspective offered by a monologue. I’m hardly alone in that opinion. Listen to Geffen artistic director and Female director Randall Arney, speaking in an interview printed within the Female program. He’s discussing how Murray-Smith’s play evolved over the course of three productions in three countries:
Mireille Enos, David Arquette, Annette Bening
“Joanna has discovered that there were sections where she had initially depended on monologues, and she found that the rhythm of the play, particularly for the American incarnation, is better served by breaking those monologues up and allowing for more interplay among the actors. What she landed on is a more dramatic and dynamic solution as the characters can now volley the ideas back and forth and create momentum that perhaps she didn’t have when the information was relayed in a monologue.”
Hmm. I wonder if LaBute noticed Arney’s printed comment - which easily could be interpreted as a knock on the same technique that LaBute employs in Wrecks, next door to Female.
As it happens, Arney is correct. While Wrecks serves as an expansive vehicle for Ed Harris, its only actor, it’s frustrating to hear only the one character’s thoughts about a very knotty relationship. I missed not only the late wife’s perspective, but also that of their children. I can’t say much of anything else, without giving away the play’s one humongous secret, but let’s just say that Wrecks relies on the shock value of that secret more than on anything the character says.
Ed Harris in Wrecks
Murray-Smith’s play relies almost entirely on what the characters say. In fact, one could argue that the play is primarily an extended argument, albeit a witty and entertaining argument. The play’s narrative surprises are never particularly convincing - apparently intentionally so, in the style of many a classic comedy.
Some critics contend that the play is anti-feminist. I disagree. True, Murray-Smith mercilessly mocks her primary character Margot Mason, an aging feminist self-help author (Annette Bening). After all, comedies are supposed to make fun of their central characters. But the woman’s daughter Tess (Mireille Enos), who has rebelled against her mother by pursuing a conventional marriage and maternity at the expense of a career, is depicted as even more amusingly miserable - which somewhat vindicates Margot’s point of view about her daughter’s choices.
The three women get more stage time than the men, befitting a play with this title, but two of the men also get to express themselves at length and with vigor. The third man, the play’s only gay character, appears too late to make much of an impact, but he’s the only exception. While the characters in The Female of the Species are fairly unbalanced, the play itself is a model of balance.
The Female of the Species, Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. Tues-Fri, 8 pm; Sat, 3 and 8 pm; Sun, 2 and 7 pm. Closes March 14.
Wrecks, Geffen Playhouse, Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. Tues-Fri, 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 and 8 pm; Sun, 2 pm. Closes March 7.
Geffen tickets and information: 310-208-5454. www.geffenplayhouse.com.
To a certain extent, North Atlantic, the New York-based Wooster’s Group’s latest excursion into REDCAT, also appears to be trying to say something about gender roles and sexuality. Yet it may well be the most boring Wooster production I’ve ever seen.
“Boring” is a quality that varies greatly in the mind of the beholder, so occasionally I couldn’t resist glancing at other theatergoers to see whether they appeared to be laughing or otherwise engaged in this eccentric, frenetic satire of the silly, slutty military personnel aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier stationed off the Dutch coast in 1983. Most of the people around me appeared to be poker-faced throughout most of the production.
And this was after director Elizabeth LeCompte was quoted in the Los Angeles Times saying of L.A. audiences that they “get what we do. Nobody’s worrying whether we’re going to ruin ’serious’ theater. They want to have a good, enjoyable time. Period.”
Gee, I like to have a good time, and I’m not worrying about whether the Wooster Group will ruin “serious” theater - whatever that means. But it doesn’t mean that I’ll enjoy a revival of a 1983 show that might have made some contemporary topical sense back then but now seems to be taking place in an unrelated galaxy. Its primary goal appears to be to get the actors to talk as fast as possible, while simultaneously demonstrating their ability to navigate on a ridiculously raked stage without injuring themselves. Three cheers for their vocal and physical agility, but three boos for James Strahs’ play.
North Atlantic, REDCAT, Disney Hall, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. Nightly through Saturday, 8 :30 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. Closes Sunday. 213-237-2800. www.redcat.org.
