Review: PERFECT ARRANGEMENT at The Bent

Sometimes I get to see a very good production of a very good play, and I go home feeling satisfied. As a reviewer, I sometimes have to see that same play again at another theatre with an entirely different cast and an entirely different directorial approach. It’s a bit like the remake of a classic. At first you wonder why it needs to be remade, and then having already seen what you consider the gold star, the outcome is less satisfactory. 

That did not happen tonight, in fact The Bent just completely blew my mind with their perfect production of Perfect Arrangement. 

First, giant kudos to Director Jason Reale on knocking it out of the park in his directorial debut and for his incredibly clever set design. It took me a few minutes of looking at it to get it, but when I did, I was struck by his artistic vision and for me it was nothing short of genius. I hope everyone has a chance to experience that moment for themself. Adding to the overall perfection is Nick Wass's lighting design, and Damian Jesus Mercado's sound design.

The play, written by Topher Payne, is set in the 1950s during the red scare. Norma (Laura Stearns) works as a secretary to Bob Baxter (Eric Seppala) who works as an investigator in the US government ferreting out commies. Bob is married to Millie Baxter (Angela Landis) a stay-at-home perfect housewife. Norma is married to Jimmy (Terry Ray) who is a school teacher. 

We open at a gathering at Millie and Bob’s house with Norma and Jimmy and Theodore Sunderson (Jeffrey Norman) who is Bob and Norma’s boss down at the agency, and Sunderson’s wife, Kitty (Barbara Kerr).

It’s all very 1950s with fancy cocktails, and the ladies clad in poofy dresses, kitten heels and fancy hats, and the gentlemen all very buttoned down. A snapshot of life in that era. But something seems a little off. Is it the way Millie’s conversation is punctuated by commercials for products in her home, or just the absolute picture perfect scene unfolding in front of us punctuated by the off-hand slurs that trip easily out of the mouth of ditzy but darling Kitty? 

I’m gonna pause here, to talk about something that confused me a bit: the costumes (Cheryl Lansing) and wigs (Lynda Scaeps). The costumes were very pretty, and seem to have been vintage. But the ladies dresses were also kinda wrinkled, and the petticoats or wires for the skirt poofs were a bit lopsided. Nothing a good yank and a steamer couldn’t fix. Also, the wigs were entirely unrealistic, and Millie’s stockings were so ill fitting I thought the actress had two dark tattoos on her ankle onto her calf. I am assuming those were the foot pads stretched too far up. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure out if that was intentional to Reale’s vision of a perfectly fabricated life with flaws in its armor, or if there wasn’t a budget. Takes nothing away from the performances however. Back to the action…

Sunderson reveals why he asked to see Bob and Norma- the red scare, the commies, have had the government in a tizzy for awhile now, but there is a new threat:  those with questionable morals, ferreting out the homosexuals, people who have secrets that could be compromised, and then firing them. He tasks Bob and Norma with that responsibility.

The Sunderlands leave, and the facade abruptly fades as our couple recouples to their chosen partners: Bob and Jimmy, Norma and Millie - and they digest what just happened. And so our play begins with a big conundrum: how will Bob and Norma navigate the morass they have just been handed while keeping their own secrets, and their partners, safe. 

Just when they think they are going to be okay, a fly in the ointment appears by the name of Barbara Grant (Deborah Harmon) a woman of the world with “questionable morals” who also works for the agency.

The cat and mouse game begins, taking us on a very wild and hilarious ride. At the same time, everything is at stake -  jobs, lives, love, and most importantly self love. Will they find it or won’t they. It’s all a fun-filled ride right up to the powerful ending.

The cast is superb. Really really great. From Stearns’ take charge Norma who loves Millie steadfastly, to her male counterpart - which is actually Seppala’s Bob, her workmate. They share the same qualities as the fixers, and in the end get in each other’s way. I’ve never seen Stearns on stage before, and she’s terrific. Seppala is such a diverse actor I had no idea I’d seen him before. The last time I saw him, he played three iconic ladies (Streisand, Jan Brady, and Bette Davis) and now he’s playing a gay man perfectly passing as straight. Great work.

Jimmy and Millie are their opposites. Ray’s Jimmy is playful, and is a little less convincing as a straight man, but his wife Norma is aggressive for that era, and they balance each other out. 

Landis’s Millie is Betty Crocker in appearance and is a delightful teller of tales she uses to get out of social situations, especially when it comes to manicures and outings with Kitty. Not that she would necessarily mind the ditzy and out-of -touch old broad in a different situation, but she’s the boss’s wife, and what if she finds out about all of them?

Kerr and Landis are fantastic in these two roles, both retaining their likeability throughout the play. Kerr’s Kitty is hopelessly clueless, with an occasional burst of kooky wisdom. She’s a bit “Aunt Clara” from Bewitched, and it’s brilliant.

Landis’s Millie has the most growth as a character, and we grow with her. Wonderful performance. The closer we get to reality, the more real Jimmy gets. It’s a nice growth arc. In fact, the story and characters all have terrific arcs, and Reale manages to capture them all.

Sunderson is “the bad guy” in the play, but Norman doesn’t play him that way. He is implementing the company policy, and he follows it down the line and to the letter. He is no hand-wringing, mustache twirling villain, he is a pawn of the government spouting persuasive reasoning in regards to personal secrets and being compromised. And although he’s the deliverer of bad news, there is no malice.

We’re finally going to address that fly in the ointment, Harmon’s Barbara Grant. Harmon puts every ounce of Roz Russell’s spirit into that character. She is a woman of the world, she has traveled, she has lived, and although she has no regrets nor secrets in her past (she’s an open book) she too is targeted. 

As to what happens, and how they all end up intertwining is up to you to find out. But in the end, we absolutely know where everyone stands, and that the future is scary but maybe bright. 

Runs thru 2/16. GO SEE IT! https://thebent.org/buy-tickets/

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