[NEohioPAL] Fran Heller on "The Receptionist"

[Jennifer Klika]

Office comedy turns dark in 'The Receptionist' at Dobama

Reviewed by Fran Heller 
Contributing Writer

What begins as a typical day at the office proves anything but in Adam
Bock's slyly dark comedy "The Receptionist."

In just 75 minutes, the play moves from the humorous humdrum of the
workplace to an unsettling and sinister vision of a post 9/11 world, gripped
by suspicion and fear. The Dobama production is at Pilgrim Congregational
Church in Tremont through April 5.

Joel Hammer's seamless direction and a flawless cast make this outstanding
production well worth seeing.

In the opening monologue, the boss, Mr. Raymond (Michael Regnier), is seated
in a chair in some indistinct room, waxing about the joys of fly fishing.
"Everything out there is eating something," he says, words that will take on
more ominous overtones half way through the play.

The action shifts to the Northeast Office branch, where Beverly, the
receptionist of the play's title (Lissy Gulick), deftly fields incoming
calls between dispensing personal advice to friends, family members and
co-worker Lorraine (Jennifer Klika), a love-starved bimbo still obsessing
over her narcissistic ex. Michael Roesch's delightful rendition of a fully
furnished office doesn't skip a detail.

Their workaday world is interrupted by an unexpected and appropriately named
visitor, Mr. Dart (Tom Woodward). Sporting dark glasses and a black suit,
Dart's pleasant disposition will soon yield to a far more baleful purpose
that involves Mr. Raymond and the unnamed nature of the company's business.

Bock's comedy is crafted with a subtlety that catches us unawares.
Initially, the play feels like an office sitcom with its banal chatter and
gossipy overtones. It is only in the last 15 minutes that cheeriness gives
way to creepy terror.

The 2007 Obie Award-winning play is a sharply veiled critique against the
Bush administration and its counter-terrorism techniques here and abroad.

Gulick sparkles as the receptionist, a matronly busybody with a ready answer
to everyone's problems. She presides over her desk with self-confidence,
never losing her telephone charm, even as her secure world begins to
unravel.

Sporting a sexy black mini skirt and stiletto heels (costumes by Jennifer
Biehl), Klika is perfect as the lonely, flirtatious Lorraine, wielding her
charms on the equally friendly Mr. Dart. Regnier shrouds a troubled Mr.
Raymond in a cloak of mystery.

Hammer's keen direction strikes the right balance between the humorous and
the evil.

"The Receptionist" is preceded by Cleveland playwright Eric Coble's farcical
skit "H.R.," a 15-minute curtain raiser that imagines a completely different
kind of day at the office. Directed with alacrity by Joe Verciglio and
featuring the same first-rate actors, "H.R." is a funny, clever trifle about
office employee backstabbing in a climate of corporate meltdown and worker
angst. It's a perfect companion piece to what follows.

WHAT: "The Receptionist" and "H.R."

WHERE: Pilgrim Congregational Church in Tremont, 2592 W. 14th St.

WHEN: Through April 5

TICKETS & INFO: 216-932-3396 or www.dobama.org

 

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