'Boston Marriage' Not Wedded Bliss

Boston Marriage

Written by David Mamet, Directed by David Zoffoli; Janie E. Howland, Scenic Design; Rafael Jaen, Costume Design; Deb Sullivan, Lighting Design; Joel Abbott, Sound Design; Lauren L. Duffy, Properties Design; Rafi Levavy, Stage Manager

CAST: Melissa Baroni, Catherine; Jennie Israel, Claire; Debra Wise, Anna

Performances through October 3 at New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA  Box Office 617-923-8487 or www.newrep.org

New Repertory Theatre in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown opens its 27^th season with David Mamet's 1999 play Boston Marriage, directed by David Zoffoli. Taking the title from a term coined by author Henry James in his 1886 novel The Bostonians, the two act comedy portrays a turn of the 20^th century living arrangement between two women that is independent of male support. Mamet's play has many components that I enjoy; among them feisty, independent women spewing witty repartée rife with sharp edges and double entendres, and class conflict in which the lower gets the better of the upper by virtue of demonstrating greater virtue.    

The story takes place in Anna's drawing room, newly decorated courtesy of her wealthy male protector. When her long absent friend Claire arrives to share some news, Anna proudly displays his gift of a humongous emerald necklace that accompanies a monthly stipend, enough to support them both in their upper-middle class Victorian lifestyle. To her friend's surprise and chagrin, Claire's announcement is that she is in love with a young woman and, to add insult to injury, is requesting that Anna allow their tryst to take place in her boudoir. As they renegotiate the terms of their relationship, Anna's ditzy Scottish maid Catherine serves tea, tends to the household duties, and repeatedly disrupts their conversations.   

In addition to the conflict between the desires of Anna and Claire, there is the undercurrent of class conflict as played out between the mistress and the servant, epitomized by the former's harshness with the latter and the running gag that Anna cannot bother to remember Catherine's name. As her own fortunes diminish, it is interesting to watch Anna adjust to her slide down the social register and set sail on a new course, always keeping her head above water.

Thanks to the sheer force of Debra Wise's will and her character's wile, Boston Marriage holds some promise for about two thirds of its duration, but the vows break down midway through the second act when Anna (Wise) and Claire (Jennie Israel) turn into Lucy and Ethel, plotting to retain their meal ticket via a convoluted and misguided ruse that would have them masquerading as fortune tellers. In the frothy, breezy first act, Wise and Israel demonstrate great timing and chemistry, with Melissa Baroni's Catherine injecting large doses of facial and physical comedy and doing her best to upstage them with every entrance. Unfortunately, the plotting becomes plodding and not even Baroni's antics can keep things afloat in the concluding half. The actresses maintain good energy, but the dialogue becomes too cute and the director is unable to keep things moving at the rapid-fire pace of the first act. I identified with Catherine's frustration when she attempts to interrupt the mistress's conversation and is forced to wait like a child trying to leap into a playground jump rope game.  

The New Rep production is artfully staged with a richly-appointed set and wonderfully detailed period costumes by Janie E. Howland and Rafael Jaen, respectively. Wise, Israel, and Baroni, a trio of fine actresses, breathe life into Jaen's designs. Deb Sullivan casts bright lighting on most of the scenes, making it impossible for Anna and Claire to hide their secrets from each other, and employs subdued wattage for the evening séance scheduled to advance their survival scheme.

Boston Marriage is atypical for playwright Mamet as all of its characters are women and the Victorian era language is aristocratic and low on salt, although not without a good dose of bawdiness. There are plenty of laughs in the script and The Situation, but most of them are in the first act. After intermission, suggestive winks and awkward kisses aren't sufficient; the infatuation wears off and the honeymoon is over.

Photo: Andrew Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures (Debra Wise, Melissa Baroni, Jennie Israel)

  

 

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