Review: PLAYHOUSE CREATURES at Lionwoman Productions

Lionwoman Productions is a relatively new company to Houston, and PLAYHOUSE CREATURES is their first full-fledged production. They have taken a play about the first female actresses onstage in Restoration-era England of the 1660s and cobbled together a theatrical piece with attention paid to every detail. This remarkable, independently produced show rivals the quality of the best professional houses in Houston. This is a stunning achievement to unleash right out of the gate, and the company should be extremely proud of how this production turned out. This is easily a “must-see” if you enjoy a period drama with a feminist bent. It is nearly perfect! From acting to any of the technical elements, this is a joy to watch. 

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PLAYHOUSE CREATURES focuses on five women who are all working in the new profession of being an actress. Before King Charles II decided it should be allowed, women did not perform on any theatrical stages in England. Now, they were able to act in street skits or religious pageants but not do things like Shakespeare or scripted plays. This changed, but the women were exploited. They were often treated as eye candy or, worse, as prostitutes. Pregnant women were not allowed to appear on the boards. All sorts of indignities and insults were hurled their way, and PLAYHOUSE CREATURES By April Deangelis doesn’t flinch from showing all of it without the slightest hesitation. 

Christianne Mays plays Mrs. Betterton, a real-life historical character who was one of the first actresses to emerge from the Restoration (famous for her Lady Macbeth), here shown as the woman-in-charge of these newly minted thespians. She is a joy to watch. Alexandra Szeto-Joe also takes on the very real and infamous Nell Gwyn who started as an orange seller and became an actress as well as mistress to the King himself. She’s everything you could want from the character, both bawdy and beautiful. Michelle Britton embodies the role of Doll Common (aka Katherine Corey), another larger-than-life looming figure from this era, known for her crack comic delivery and pioneering the craft. Britton’s theatrical timing is immaculate. Tyne Jenae and Jeana Magallon round out the cast as characters that could be seen as an amalgamation of many women who entered this brave new world back then. They glide into these roles and play the broad comedy and the intense truth equally well. This is all based on history, and I would encourage audiences to read up before or after the show because these women are so instrumental in theatrical traditions. (sidenote - Jennifer Doctorovich and Cat Thomas are either substitutes or understudies for some performances). The cast of women here all have impressive credits including shows in NYC, London, at the Alley, Stages Houston, Main Street Theatre, and any number of companies I could list out. They are all pros, and getting them altogether firing at this material is an embarrassment of riches. No matter what the script calls for, these women are up to the task of playing it richly and with great precision. They navigate sly and dry comedy and turbulent personal drama with grace and wit. You would be hard-pressed to find a cast this uniformly great anywhere. 

Technically, the production is on par with the acting. The set design from Brandi L. Alexander, with assistance from Charly Topper, is a gorgeous portrayal of both a dressing room and a late 1600s stage filled with everything you could imagine for these ladies. There is so much detail woven into every inch here. Edgar Gugardo’s lights and Hayley Christensen’s sound work are equally resplendent. Leah Smith executes the period-perfect costumes, and Gisell Rubio wrangles the wigs. Ann C. Harlan choreographs a delightful, silly sword fight, and Deborah Hope adds realism to a sequence of a woman in trouble with her intimacy coordination. They even called in Carolyn Johnson to perfect the accents. There is not one thing missed here in the creation of PLAYHOUSE CREATURES. I suspect director Marshall Mays was enthused that he had a cast and crew that could cover almost everything, and he showed a sure hand in keeping the direction perfectly in sync with where it needed to be. The scenes flow well, the material hits the right notes, and he must have an exacting eye that misses nothing. Marshall has helped produce something that I compared immediately to a Faberge Egg, rich in detail and design. This is admirable work, and his guidance shines through.  

The script from April Deangelis mixes dry comedy with drama that holds nothing back, and it provides a collage of scenes that flesh out what it must have been like during this revolution of the Restoration. It’s not perfect, though. I did find the real-life histories of the actual folks were a little more interesting and helped flesh everything out for me. Would that we got more of the real lives of these historical recreations. And the text does seem to run a bit long, with multiple endings and meandering bits here and there. I don’t mind that, though. Overall, the play is a fierce meditation on what it means to be an actress four centuries ago or now. It is amazing to think that we still treat actresses with much of the same disrespect these women suffered. And that’s the real takeaway from this evening. In that, the work holds together. 

During an interview I did with  Michelle Britton a few weeks ago, she mentioned she “didn’t want to become the Alley” and that her Lionwoman Productions is “about helping people understand each other better.” Certainly, PLAYHOUSE CREATURES is right up there in rivaling the quality of the Alley (perhaps besting them, to be honest) and informs audiences of a struggle that endures even today. I would emphatically say from this outing, mission accomplished. This show would be something of a revolution even at the Alley, and it educates and entertains. Lionwoman Productions is one to watch, and I have my eye on them. They are adding to a core group of smaller production companies that make Houston Theatre so vibrant outside of places you would typically expect. 

PLAYHOUSE CREATURES runs at the MATCH facility only through November 23rd. Parking is pretty easy, with both street and garage parking around the immediate area. There are also restaurants well within walking distance.

Photo features left to right - Alexandra Szeto-Joe,  Christianne Mays,  Tyne Jeanae,  and Michelle Britton. The photographer is Payton Dennis. 

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