[NEohioPAL] Review of "An Ideal Husband" at Lakeland Civic Theatre

[Bob Abelman]

Lakeland offers solid but less than 'Ideal Husband' 

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald on 10/1/10

"Sooner or later we have all to pay for what we do."

Pastoral letter of apology from Pope Benedict XVI?   Group confessional by Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, Auditor Frank Russo, and Judges Bridget McCafferty and Steven Terry?  Meaning of the asterisk next to the records set by steroid-superstars Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens?  

Actually, this quote comes from Oscar Wilde's play An Ideal Husband, written in 1895, about how the mighty fall.  Not only do those we place high on a pedestal tend to teeter and fall; frequently, they are pushed.  In the political arena, they are pushed particularly hard and usually from behind.  This is the focus of Wilde's brilliant piece of social satire, in production at the Lakeland Civic Theatre.

Wilde was to 19th century upper class British society, with its highly structured and well mannered mores, what Bob Dylan was to 1960s complacent mainstream America:  an intelligent bad boy in the back of the classroom scratching caustic poetry into his desk that calls attention to the foolishness of the times.  And, like all creative outsiders looking in, Wilde gets mighty wordy.  

An Ideal Husband is four acts of non-stop dialogue.  It, like Wilde's other major works, amounts to a war of words between clearly defined characters, each with competing personal philosophies and worldviews.  This war is void of fisticuffs or any kind of action.   Instead, An Ideal Husband offers dueling ideologies hurled by proper, well appointed socialites at 20 paces.  They are armed with ascorbic wit and an expansive vocabulary, which they brandish with skill and grace, and are afflicted with the tendency to always, always speak their minds.

The play centers on Government Minister Sir Robert Chiltern.  Fate catches up to the good Sir Robert when a letter that reveals a past misdeed avails itself with blackmail attached.  He must choose between a very public scandal that would ruin his stellar political career and the private shame of his adoring wife, who thought she had married a paragon of ethical standards and the pillar of virtue in politics.  Added to the mix is a bit of mistaken identity that only fools those in the play, which is a favorite ploy of the playwright and his contemporaries.

Quite frankly, it is hard for those in the 21st century who are unaccustomed to Wilde's ways to work up a good sweat over this play.

This is unfortunate, for Wilde's words employ such luscious language and biting cynicism that they are a genuine pleasure to listen to.  He cleverly explores the complexity of truth in the political, social and romantic arenas by employing the most superficial spokespersons for it.

Director Martin Friedman, at the helm of this Lakeland Civic Theatre production, has an ear for this kind of dialogue. He also has an eye for what type of movement places the words center stage and what distracts.  His staging is understated and effective.  Similarly, Keith Nagy's simple yet elegant set, with its multiple doors, large centerpiece and sparse usage of period furniture, does nothing but complement the wordplay performed within it.

Of course, those words are spoken by performers daring to take on Wilde's prototypical characters; characters that demand dimensionality despite their apparent simplicity. After all, these individuals need to come across as real and relevant in order for an audience to buy into what they are selling.  

Friedman's cast accomplishes this with varying degrees of success during the show's preview performance.

Jeffery Grover as Sir Robert Chiltern, Diane Mull as Lady Chiltern and Jennifer Davies as the blackmailing Mrs. Cheveley have nicely captured the essence of their respective characters and put on display the features that define them.  They are interesting creations.  What has yet to reveal itself is the vivacity that adds flesh to their bare bones.  In all fairness, these actors carry the weight of this play in terms of the quantity of their dialogue and the seriousness of their characters, which requires substantial legwork and, perhaps, more time to develop. 

A richer portrayal comes from Doug Kusak's absurd Viscount Goring, a self-proclaimed admirer of stupidity, who carries much of the play's comedy.  One of the acid tests of a more bountiful characterization in a Wilde play is how well a performer accommodates the eventual revelation of his or her character's hypocrisy.  Kusak does this brilliantly.

Also delivering solid performances are Michael Rogan as Goring's austere father, the Earl of Caversham, a truly delightful Katherine DeBoer as Goring's love interest, Miss Mabel Childtern, and Maria Thomas Lister as the rather vacant Lady Markby.   

It is not hard to recognize modern day moronics in An Ideal Husband or to identify the evergreen temptation to conceal damaging private choices from the public sphere.  Perhaps the fallen leadership of Cuyahoga County will take in a performance and subscribe to its moral:  "Sooner or later we have all to pay for what we do."

An Ideal Husband continues through October 10 (Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., Sunday Matinees, 2 p.m.) at Lakeland Civic Theatre, 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland.  For tickets, which range from $5 to $15, call 440-525-7526 or visit martinfriedman98 at yahoo.com.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20101001/42929726/attachment-0003.htm>