Whispered secrets, sexual awakenings and
betrayals are front and center in this tender and remarkably delicate
production as the African Continuum Theater company resurrects itself from
its near death to produce Intimate Apparel. Upon entering the theater
space, one is made ready to be absorbed as a striking multi-layered
contraption of a set, chock full of steps and hidden places, objects and
props awaits. With a well balanced ensemble of actors working together
seamlessly calling up complicated characters in various phases of heartache
and heartbreak, this production does not become a hankie inducing
melodramatic cry fest. Under Jennifer L. Nelson’s steady and knowing hand,
this is a creation that conjures up loneliness and then illuminates things
for those who care about love, or the lack thereof, as a transformative
experience. Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel is a poem of love and
loss from the point of view of mature individuals learning that affection
and emotional intimacy can come from unexpected quarters, and that opening a
heart can be deadly. The production is well served not only by its ensemble
working as a whole, but by a finely subtle performance by Deidra LaWan
Starnes in the lead role, and by Annette Dees Grevious as the shrewd but
needy prostitute. Area favorite, Jewell Robinson, is all refinement and
understatement as the older mentor. Susan Lynskey, Zuanna Sherman and Daniel
Eichner each add critical pieces to the audience’s enjoyment. |
Storyline: The daughter of a former slave
moves north to New York City and makes a career for herself as a seamstress
crafting "intimate apparel" for a wealthy, mostly white, clientele. As
highly trained as she is with a needle, she doesn't read or write, so when a
laborer on the Panama Canal begins to write to her, she seeks the help of
friends and customers to craft her responses. Unbeknownst to her, he too is
illiterate, relying on assistance to create the gentle missives he sends.
Romance blooms and he travels to the US to marry her. She's not getting
exactly what she expected, however, and their tribulations teach each many
lessons. Lynn Nottage, born in
1964, is a graduate of Yale School of Drama. She has received a Guggenheim
Fellowship and in September 2007, the MacArthur Foundation presented her
with its “genius award.” Intimate Apparel was co-commissioned and
produced at Baltimore’s CenterStage in 2003. In 2004 it was produced
Off-Broadway to critical acclaim. Jennifer L. Nelson has taken a very visual
approach in her direction. Her technical design team has given high
curb appeal to the set so that an audience will spend time before the show
just trying to figure out all the nooks and crannies. Nelson’s cast is an
experienced one with nary a weak link, though on press night there were some
dropped lines and minor miscues here and there; all to be forgiven. She has
her cast go through their dramatic paces as they are each called upon for
great big physical and verbal moments as well as modest tender gestures;
some are also asked to provide arrogant, forceful, sometimes violent
deliveries and then switch to be meek, humble, speaking in almost
beaten-down tones. They do pull it off. Intimate Apparel is a play
that first and foremost requires that the touch of hand to a piece of cloth
be felt and seem like a lover touching for the first time. There is success
here with that sensuality.
As the central character,
Deidra LaWan Starnes finds modesty, almost timidness, about herself that is
so very well suited to her role. Against her the other actors are arrayed
and move about. It is a juxtaposition as if the sun revolves around the
moon. Starnes seems slight in stature and can be so very reserved and
diffident in her acting, as if she wants to walk and breathe without making
a sound. When she is courted through long distance letters from an
unanticipated paramour, Zuanna Sherman, Starnes brightens, taking on a
womanliness that had been hidden under high collar blouses, long full skirts
and her near murmur of delivery. As she moves about the stage, interacting
with others, she does not falter as the quiet central presence. Slight definitely, scared maybe, timid sure - but they
all circle her and need her or they do not exist. When she touches cloth or
puts her hand across another’s body, there is a quiet spark that is felt. As
for Sherman, his strong, rich, deep voice resonates from the back of the
stage to the deepest reaches of the audience. He is one of earthy strength
and manliness as we meet him in Act I. As he moves through Act II, he
becomes a man beaten down without a job, borrowing money from his wife and
slowly taking on a menacing and aggressive bearing toward her. We are asked
to understand his pain, but can hate him for his emotional violence to his
wife. Annette Dees Grevious is all brass, hiding her neediness behind her
open thighs and quick broad smile. She is a jumble of high energy with
non-stop movement, arms akimbo. She is like an ocean of waves wanting to be
calmed by the slow hands of a good man, even if that man is the husband of
her best friend. Jewell Robinson is the played-out and tired older woman of
experience without happy expectations any more of life, but wanting to
rescue the young women who become her charges. Susan Lynskey delivers a kiss
that had the audience on press night gasping in disgust; it seemed to this
reviewer, though, that it was the chaste kiss of one seeking a connection,
rather than of sexuality.
The audience is met with
the syncopated pre-show music. Throughout the production music is used to
bridge the two Acts and 13 scenes. There is also music within several scenes
from a player piano. With a number of beds in view, there is an expectation
of sexual energy, but they are really beds of melancholy devoid of passion
or life. This reviewer’s eyes took a long, deep look at the rich amber hues
of the set and the lighting that was at times like the morning sun rising
all warm and expectant on a late spring morning. The costumes were very
evocative of time and place and social strata. Soon enough they were no
longer costumes, but just outfits, that is the way it should be.
Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Jennifer
L. Nelson. Design: Klyph Stanford (set and lights) Diana Khoury (costumes)
Tim Jones (properties) Chas Marsh (sound) Cliff Russell (photography)
Caroline Listul (stage manager). Cast: Daniel Eichner, Annette Dees
Grevious, Deidra LaWan Starnes, Susan Lynskey, Jewell Robinson, Zuanna
Sherman. |
