Review: DR RIDE'S AMERICAN BEACH HOUSE at The Gaslight Theatre

There are times as an audience member when a script may be smarter than the critic. Previous reviews of DR. RIDE’S AMERICAN BEACH HOUSE have called productions intelligent and avant-garde in its storytelling. Many have connected to the material, describing it as well-written, witty, thoughtful, and a literary slow burn. That is contrary to my opinion on the script. I found DR. RIDE’S AMERICAN BEACH HOUSE to be mundane and uninteresting. 

DR. RIDE’S AMERICAN BEACH HOUSE by St. Louis Playwright Lisa Birkenmeier tells the story of two friends, Harriet and Matilda, visiting on a St. Louis rooftop on the eve of Sally Ride’s historic challenger flight in 1983. Both women, connected by their sexuality, reveal that their closeted existence mirrors that of Ride, the astronaut whose sexuality was not acknowledged openly until printed in her obituary. Both women discuss their lives, encounters with men, a marriage, and acknowledge their attraction to one another. Matilda is a confident and attractive woman. Harriet is insecure and envious of Matilda’s physical appearance and the attention she gets from others. They are joined by a third woman, Meg, an invited guest who is a role model for everything Harriet and Matilda desire to be. Meg is confident and self-assured. She turns the tables on Matilda, when she pays an inordinate amount of attention to Harriet and offers to accompany her on a necessary road trip to Florida. 

Representation in entertainment and art is important, and Birkenmeier’s play is relevant because of its representation of female queer characters and the challenges of being out in the early 1980s. Its link to the Challenger flight of Sally Ride is an interesting concept providing a famous heroine whose secret personal life is like their ordinary existence in St. Louis. However, the script simply did not capture my attention. Some elements were over written, like the lengthy and awkward description of Harriet’s encounter with a man in Florida. Other aspects of the play, Matilda’s repetitive singing of 80’s music and a radio commercial for Bud Light, added little to the narrative. It seemed to be a device to stretch the length of the play versus a strategy to transport the audience back to the decade in which it was set. The fourth character in the play is the landlord in Harriet’s building. This character added nothing to the narrative and was a quirky distraction. Leaving the theater, I found myself questioning why this character was necessary to the plot.  

This review of Birkenmeier’s work is a minority opinion and is not consistent with other critical writing on this production or the Off-Broadway Production of DR. RIDE’S AMERICAN BEACH HOUSE. It was a conscious choice, out of fairness, not to comment on the direction and acting performances since the script did not create a significant impact. I would suggest seeing this production based on the opinions of peer reviewers and previous commentary on this work. This production of Birkenmeier’s play DR. RIDE’S AMERICAN BEACH HOUSE is presented by the St. Louis Actor’s Studio through October 22nd. Click the link below for more information or to purchase tickets.  

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