BWW Reviews: COLOR Her Rose Kennedy
By: Don Grigware Nov. 29, 2011
The Color of Rose
written & directed by Kathrine Bates
Theatre 40
runs Mon, Tues and Wed through December 21.
"Rise above it!" was a phrase used throughout Rose Kennedy's long life (1890-1995) to get her past the personal turmoil and tragedies that beset her and her large Irish clan. One question overheard by many in the audience on the opening night at Theatre 40 of Kathrine Bates' The Color of Rose was "How could she stay with such an awful man for so many years?" Joe Kennedy had a reputation as a womanizer; he was also a manipulator of money and corporations, and an alcoholic to boot. But he was Irish Catholic. Rose Fitzgerald was also Irish Catholic, and Irish Catholic people in those days remained loyal to one another and by and large did not divorce. Divorce was rare. Rose's life was hardly a bed of roses, but she contented herself with her children's achievements and never said an unkind word in public about Joe's wrongdoings. That's the way it was, and in Bates' new play, Rose Kennedy receives a pure and totally human rendering as the icon of motherhood. She does regret never having attended Wellesley College, and of course, there's her rejection of daughter Kathleen who rebelled and married a Protestant, living her life in England until her untimely death in a plane crash. If only they had reconciled: it's not difficult to comprehend how a mother would feel about that or about poor daughter Rosemary, who had undergone a labotomy at the insistence of father Joe, who took medical advice as the best recourse. Again, it's Rose defending Joe's decisions and standing behind him 100%. It was her job as a dutiful wife, and she remained stalwart, as was expected of her.
Bates represents Rose at three different stages of life: the young Rose, in her 20s as a wide-eyed optimist (Shelby Kocee), at middle age as life got tougher (Lia Sargent) and at old age (Gloria Stroock) as she looks back at her mistakes and tries to make sense of it all. These are not three separate monologues at three distinct time periods, but rather one fluid piece with all three Roses on stage simultaneously watching and listening to the others speak as the story unfolds. It's in the mind of the older Rose as she recollects, in preparing to face an interview, and it works beautifully. For example, when a middle aged Rose frets about an incident, the older Rose is there to remind her that you must forgive and forget. On the joyous side, all the women can exult in how young Rose felt on her wedding day, and on the down side, even the young Rose can understand the shock and devastation she would experience on the day her beloved son JFK was assassinated. Bates splendid direction of the three is having them sort of dance around each other and on occasion lend a hand, as when old Rose needs assistance in sitting down or standing; they are an integral part of each other and work splendidly together like three ballerinas in unison. It is lovely to watch.
The three actresses are outstanding. Kocee brings out Rose's joy and vulnerability, Sargent her tough skin and Stroock her whole emotional being, resolved but fragile, as she surveys her past strengths and weaknesses. Their chemistry together is impeccable.
Jeff G. Rack's set design is of an elegant hotel drawing room where the interview is about to take place with the elder Rose. There is a large vase of flowers center stage from which the actresses take roses consistently and describe them by color: how that color depicts a quality or personality trait. Blue represents the unnatural, the unattainable that without question fits with the Kennedy curse and quest for Camelot; peach, gentility, used to describe the nature of Jacqueline, and so on...
Some may argue that Rose comes off too perfect in The Color of Rose, but who wants to argue about a 104-year-old woman that continuously stood tall and played out bravely the hand she was dealt? Like Kathrine Bates says, Rose Kennedy was indeed "a wonder".
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