Review: LOOPED Tour Banks on Stefanie Powers

Looped

A New Comedy by Matthew Lombardo, Directed by Rob Ruggiero; Sets, Adrian W. Jones; Costumes, William Ivey Long; Lighting, Michael Gilliam; Sound, Michael Hooker; Wigs, Charles G. LaPointe; Production Stage Manager, Jeffry George; Stage Manager, Derek Michael DiGregorio

CAST: Stefanie Powers as Tallulah Bankhead, Brian Hutchison as Danny Miller, Matthew Montelongo as Steve

Performances through May 5 at Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-824-8000 or www.aestages.org

Stefanie Powers is a trouper. The stage and screen star traces her career from her teenage years, through five seasons on the beloved "Hart to Hart" with Robert Wagner in the early 1980s, to success with writing screenplays and her memoir One From the Hart. With her star turn as Tallulah Bankhead in the national tour of Looped, Powers distinguishes herself in the role she stepped into in place of her friend Valerie Harper, who originated it at The Pasadena Playhouse in 2008 and later played in a Tony Award-nominated performance on Broadway in 2010. Two months into the tour, Powers transforms into the irrepressible Bankhead as she stumbles into a sound studio and repeatedly stumbles over one line of dialogue she is required to re-record for her final movie, Die, Die, My Darling.

Even under the best of circumstances, it might be difficult to articulate this particular line: "And so, Patricia, as I was telling you, that deluded rector has in literal effect closed the church to me," but it became all the more challenging when the actress showed up inebriated. In playwright Matthew Lombardo's comedy, Bankhead continues to keep herself lubricated during the recording session, as well as taking advantage of a break to powder her nose with a certain white controlled substance. The uptight, task-focused sound editor Danny Miller (Brian Hutchison) must feel like Bill Murray's character in Groundhog Day as he tries to maintain his composure and professionalism while repeating the endeavor over and over and over again.

It has been awhile since I've witnessed anyone receiving entrance applause, but the rapt audience at the Cutler Majestic Theatre afforded the honor to Powers on opening night. She makes a grand entrance onto Adrian W. Jones' set wearing a full-length fur and William Ivey Long-designed shimmering blue dress, as well as an evocative, wavy wig by Charles G. LaPointe, looking every inch a queen of the silver screen. The fact that she is clad in a fur offers a hint into the star's effort to project her status as the story takes place in the summer of 1965 in Los Angeles. Lombardo goes to great lengths to show and tell as much detail about Bankhead as possible in the limited span of this one long afternoon in the waning months of her life. Powers' performance is not a caricature, but a portrayal of the actress whose voice and body were ravaged by the effects of cigarettes, liquor, drugs, and prolific sexual encounters. It is an interesting coincidence that Powers co-starred with Bankhead as Patricia in Die, Die, My Darling early in her career and had an opportunity to observe her in a working relationship. The result is her ability to humanize the character and bring out the hurts she suffered, as well as to show the reserves she called upon to endure and be true to herself.

Although Danny struggles to deal with the actress' inability to stay focused to get the job done, Hutchison matches Powers stride for stride. His character's arc calls for him to be bland and circumspect at the start, trying in vain to keep a professional distance from Bankhead. As the day marches on, Danny's personal life begins to seep into the room and she pounces on his weakness in an attempt to secure some connection with him. Once Hutchison drops his guard, his performance is emotionally powerful and the two actors are drawn together by an invisible link that is strongly felt radiating through the fourth wall.

As much as Danny is nonplussed by Bankhead's outrageousness, the engineer in the booth is unfazed. Steve (Matthew Montelongo) communicates by microphone through the glass in a steady, emotionless voice. He runs the film clip and records Tallulah's dub (except when he forgets to), chows down on a sandwich, reads the newspaper, and runs out for an extra reel. His role is at once minimal and vital, and Montelongo strikes just the right tone. Sound designer Michael Hooker enables him to be heard loud and clear. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Powers and Hutchison as their location on the set seemed to determine how well they could be heard at times. (Note: the hearing device provided by the Cutler Majestic failed to serve its purpose.)

Playwright Lombardo reunites with Director Rob Ruggiero following their previous collaboration on High starring Kathleen Turner (which played the Cutler Majestic Theatre in 2011). Lighting designer Michael Gilliam and Hooker transport Bankhead to the set of A Streetcar Named Desire when she goes into a reverie. Shadows of wrought iron rails are cast on the ochre walls of the studio and the sounds of audience laughter and applause erupt in her mind. It effectively takes us out of the present moment to reflect on the actress' past as she gets lost in the memory, and it is a poignant scene. Looped is a successful comedy because it contains scenes like this and plays them for more than laughs. And that happens because Tallulah Bankhead was more than a legend and because Stefanie Powers is a trouper.

Photo credit: Ian Ibbetson (Brian Hutchison and Stefanie Powers)

To post a comment, you must register and login.