Mar. 18, 2005
Wendy Wasserstein is a gifted playwright and her scripts are
often crowded with literary and historical allusions.
Her 1992 play The
Sisters Rosenweig references Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters in both its script
and its title. There is a Chekhovian feel to the play where little seems to be
happening, but a lot is going on.
Amicus Productions
is presenting an entertaining and thoughtful production The Sisters Rosenweig
at Fairview Library Theatre.
Director Ari
Weisberg and the cast have given the play careful consideration. Each of the
performers completely understands the motivations of their characters.
The eldest sister,
Sara, has a successful career as an international banker, is raising a teenaged
daughter and has recently had a hysterectomy.
Middle sister,
Pfeni, is a globetrotting journalist with a bisexual boyfriend.
Youngest sister,
Gorgeous, has become a radio show host giving advice even as her own marriage
hits some potholes.
The women are
characterized by their connection to their Jewish background: Sara discounts
it, Gorgeous revels in it and Pfeni travels the world as the proverbial
wanderer.
As they celebrate
Sara's 54th birthday, tensions mount, old arguments erupt again and there is
even a hint of romance for Sara in the form of a purveyor of synthetic furs.
Kathryn Morgan is
terrific as Sara. Through everything she says - and a good deal of what she
doesn't say - Sara's feelings, confused or not, are apparent.
She also creates a
warm bond with Sara Price, who plays her free-spirited daughter, Tess.
As the celebrated
Gorgeous, Maureen Dorey-Lukie milks every laugh out her role, without ignoring
the pathos.
Heather Goodall as
Pfeni gets some of the wordier speeches as befits a globetrotting journalist.
She occasionally trips over some of the words. Is this the character? The
actress makes it seem so.
The men get less
attention from Wasserstein, but Scott Cameron as Tess's revolutionary boyfriend
and Brian Abbott as Sara's gentleman friend are each given moments to shine.
Ted Powers is properly flamboyant as the bisexual Broadway director dancing
around the living room in purple underwear.
Best of all,
Stephen Flett gives a sensitive performance as the furrier who falls for Sara.
Weisberg directs
his production at a crisp pace that occasionally undercuts the text. The pacing
compensates for an overly long script, but leaves little time to consider the
content of some of
Wasserstein's more
densely written speeches.
Like the plays of
Chekhov, there is much to consider after the final curtain falls.
-
The Sisters
Rosenweig continues at Fairview Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall Dr., through
Saturday, March 19. All performances are at 8 p.m. Tickets are $16 and
available by calling 416-860-6176.
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