BWW Reviews: Maxwell Goes Out With a Flourish in SCENES FROM AN EXECUTION

If the current PTP/NYC revival of Howard Barker's Scenes From An Execution is indeed, as announced, Jan Maxwell's stage acting swan song, she is certainly going out spectacularly.

One of the finest and stage actors of this generation, Maxwell mentioned her retirement only in passing during an interview while the production was previewing, citing a lack of variety in the roles she's been offered.

Originally conceived as a 1984 radio play, Scenes has a tense and grandiose Maxell playing a highly-regarded 16th Century painter, Galactia. She's known to be as brash and opinionated as she is brilliant, so it's not without some trepidation that the Doge of Venice (Alex Draper) commissions her for a grand public mural depicting their victory over the Turks in the 1571 Battle of Lepanto.

When Galactia creates a graphic display of a slaughter rather than a celebration of a glorious triumph, the Doge, torn between admiring her work and recognizing its inappropriateness for his purposes, turns to a lesser artist, Galactia's lover, Carpetta (Davis Barlow), for help.

The uneasy mixture of politics and art is certainly a familiar one and the portrayal of a self-important, lusty and unswerving genius isn't new, but Barker's choice to play out the conflict with a woman artist adds considerable layers. Maxell wonderfully balances the artist's passion for making important statements with her skill in playing the game differently than her male colleagues.

Director Richard Romagnoli's intimate production features a fine ensemble, with visuals that nicely serve the darkly-humored text. Maxwell may be the attention-grabbing focus, but the evening is overall quite intriguing.

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