BWW Reviews: THE HOW AND THE WHY Opens the Season at Shakespeare & Company in the Berkshires

Plays about brainy and complex women are way too scarce. Sarah Treem--known for her work on cable shows like THE AFFAIR, IN TREATMENT, and HOUSE OF CARDS--has given us a new one which provides two great roles, plenty of emotional punch, some terrific lines, and lots to think about.

THE HOW AND THE WHY features two research scientists, one at the peak of her career, and the other just starting out. They are both evolutionary biologists, and they have competing theories related to menstruation and menopause in the human species. It was news to me, but few species menstruate at all, and human females alone among primates cease menstruating long before death. So--what's the evolutionary advantage of the biology we've developed? (Note: the theories espoused here come straight out of legit articles published in 1993 and 1998: if you're curious, look up 'The Defense Theory and menstruation' and 'The Grandmother Hypothesis.')

The first meeting between these two happens in the more established one's office, days before a national conference. The talk is about the science and the politics of the conference, but it's clear that there is a lot going on beneath the surface in this relationship. Secrets are in play, and either or both characters may be lying, at least some of the time. I won't spoil the surprise, and fortunately, Treem doesn't either, giving the audience plenty of time to figure out on their own what connection the two women have beyond their shared profession, before confirming it. Not only are her characters smart, she thinks audiences are, too.

Shakespeare & Company regular Tod Randolph plays Zelda, the older and more established woman, with grounded grace and considerable humor, even under duress. She's entirely credible. Newcomer Bridget Saracino (who trained in the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA program) plays Rachel, a graduate student who is insecure and confrontational. The character fluctuates between volatile neediness and ballsy agency as she tries to get what she wants-trouble is, of course, that she's not entirely sure what that is. Saracino has the skill to make this character sympathetic and watchable despite her agitation.

There's a lot here about women in academia, and in the work world generally, and how and whether the choices we have are different now than they were for women a generation back. Treem's got a gift for writing smart but speakable dialogue: Zelda calls herself a 'sexual Magellan,' describes love as 'the Stockholm Syndrome gussied up,' and when Rachel asks if life will always be this hard, replies 'It will either be hard or boring: you get to pick.'

At Shakespeare & Company, the focus is always on marrying the text to emotional veracity, rather than sets or spectacle. Director Nicole Ricciardi knows this well, having grown up in the Berkshires where teaching artists from the Company go into the local schools regularly in a highly regarded and long-standing educational residency program. Ricciardi went on to professional training at Carnegie Mellon and now is based in New York but has returned to home turf to helm this production. Every word lands, and the tempos of the verbal exchanges have the variety and liveliness of real speech.

I hope this play goes on to multiple productions in many venues across the country. It's about both ideas and feelings and it gives life to two women characters as complicated and smart as the ones I see around me in the world, but too rarely see on screen or stage.

photo credit: Enrico Spada

To post a comment, you must register and login.