BWW Reviews: Gamm Theatre's Up and Down Season Ends With Timely MARIE ANTOINETTE

At times, it can be hard to imagine that there was ever a period in history when society was as celebrity-obsessed as this country is right now. With the internet, social media, Twitter, 24-hour cable news and everything else, information about the rich and famous is everywhere, all the time. It seems impossible to avoid and seems that the public's appetite for it is insatiable. On the other hand, David Adjmi's play Marie Antoinette, now playing at the Gamm Theatre, casts the famous French queen in much the same kind of world. And while the uneven play doesn't offer much that's new or original, it does provide lens through which we can view and examine our own society and it's problems.

While Adjmi's play isn't necessarily a strict "period-piece" or exact recreation of every historical detail, it does trace the history of the titular character, her tumultuous reign and precipitous fall from grace. The short and fast-moving play begins with her glamorous life in the palace at Versailles, the most rich and famous of all the rich and famous people in France, and maybe in all of Europe. In the play's second half, which feels like an entirely different play at times, we see her come undone in every way, financially, emotionally and physically, as the French Revolution consumes the royal family and her in particular.

Like another famous French Revolution story, Adjmi's script is a tale of two plays. The first half feels mostly like a gimmick or a comedy-show sketch, stretched out too long. "What if Marie Antoinette was just another spoiled Hollywood starlet like Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan of today?" That seems to be the central question Adjmi wants us to ask and try to answer. Or, at least, that seems to be the point that he really wants to get across to the audience, doing so with little nuance or subtlety. Marie Antoinette was rich and famous and spoiled and both beloved and hated by the people who obsessed over her. Just like today's celebrities. Adjmi spends way too long hammering the audience over the head with that point, which quickly plays itself out and just becomes boring. Satire is great but this is satire that is too heavy-handed.

In the second half, though, Adjmi digs deeper and takes the audience into some interesting dramatic and historical territory. Once the you-know-what hits the fan, his script explores Marie Antoinette's fall in a much more nuanced way, getting into her inner life, what she may have been thinking and feeling and even dreaming about. The play becomes more a family drama and a prison drama, taking on a darker, more serious tone, one which is much more interesting and engaging. It almost makes the audience forget all about the bright, shiny triviality that is the first half, which may have been Adjmi's point to begin with, that all of that really didn't matter at all, at the literal and figurative end of the day.

This change of tone and tenor is also crafted by director Rachel Walshe. She creates a very clear and convincing journey from the bright, colorful world of Versailles to the dark, dingy and dangerous hole in the ground that is the prison Marie Antoinette ends up in. At the same time, she keeps the pace and the energy constant, the play moves fluidly and quickly, never drags. And she creates some beautiful moments, again mostly during the second half, especially between Marie and her husband and son or Marie and her prison captors.

Those moments are also created courtesy of the fine cast of talented actors populating Marie Antoinette's world. In the title role is the luminous Madeleine Lambert, whose Marie is impossible not to fall in love with or root for, just a little bit. The play's first half doesn't ask her to do much other than act like a petulant, frustrated, oblivious rich person, but she plays every moment to the hilt. In the second half, she demonstrates her talent and range by creating a believable and mesmerizing emotional and psychological breakdown as Marie nears the end of her life.

As Marie's husband, King Louis XVI, Jed Hancock Brainerd is wonderful, creating a king who is at times much more interesting to watch than his wife the queen. Brainerd's king is a complex and nuanced man who is dealing with many issues he is not equipped to deal with or handle. From physical limitations to the inability to make the right decision, this is an ineffectual king who is ill-fit for the role, and Brainerd brings all of those faults and limitations to believable and entertaining life. He crafts a very real person who the audience cares about and sympathizes with, and his scenes with Lambert in the play's second half are among the production's highlights. It is really their relationship that is the beating heart of this story for much of the play, in part thanks to the two actors and their performance together.

The rest of the ensemble get far less stage time and less attention or opportunity, but do their best with what they are given. Casey Seymour Kim is always fabulous and does get some great moments here, especially early in the play. Her portrayal of Yolande De Polignac, a friend of Marie's, is fun and at times hilarious, primarily due to the little nuances and touches Kim gives the character. As Marie's other friend, Therese De Lamballe, Amanda Ruggiero is just as good, giving the small part some real depth and nuance and taking advantage of the small moments she has to do so.

Jim O'Brien appears as a few characters but is most notable as Marie's brother, Joseph. His scene with Lambert is the best of the play's first half as the two bounce off of each other perfectly. O'Brien gives Joseph a perfect balance of regal royalty and real humanity. Also great is Mycah Hogan as the Revolutionary. Maybe it's just that Lambert has the ability to raise the game of the actors around her, or maybe Hogan is an equally great actor, but they also have a fantastic, riveting scene together later in the play. While the character is mostly just a metaphor or type, a symbol of the entire revolution and it's participants, Hogan does a really nice job with the role.

Marie Antoinette's son is played beautifully here by Phineas Peters. Alec Thibodeau is also good in the rather odd role of A Sheep, which seems there mostly to appear in Marie's mind and offer her guidance or advice. Tony Estrella appears in an important role in terms of forwarding the plot but isn't asked to do much more than be handsome and charming, which he does well, of course.

What the Gamm also always does well is pull of the techical aspects of a show and it's no different here. Carrie Capizzano's minimalist set is a perfect storytelling platform, shifting and changing as needed and creating a very real sense of the world of Marie Antoinette and the places and things she experienced. Megan Estes also crafts some theatrical perfection with her lighting design, which also does just enough to really add to the storytelling without ever distracting from it. Finally, Marilyn Salvatore adds a gorgeous lineup of perfect costumes, from the sumptuous dresses worn at Versailles to the torn and tattered clothes Marie ends up in at the end of her journey.

From those wondeful techincal elements to the spectacular perfomance of Madeleine Lambert, there are a number of good reasons to not miss this final produciton of the Gamm's season. And there are a number of thought-provoking ideas to be found here, from the aforementioned examination of celebrity and fame to the very real modern-day problems of income inequalty, the wealth gap and the uprising of the "99 Percenters" against the "1 Percenters." At it's heart, though, is the story, one about a woman in power, her relationships, loves, losses, frustrations, victories and defeats, and it's a story that is well told and well worth seeing.

Marie Antoinette is at the Sandra Feinstein Gamm Theatre, at 172 Exchange Street in Pawtucket, through May 31st. Show times are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 7pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets are $41 and $49, depending on the day/time. For tickets, call the box office at 401-723-4266 or visit the company's website at gammtheatre.org.

Pictured (L to R): Jed Hancock Brainerd and Madeleine Lambert. Photo by Peter Goldberg.

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