BWW Reviews: THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE at Theatre J

Washington DC's Theater J wraps up their 2014-2015 season with Charles Busch's THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE.

The playwright, Charles Busch, was known as a pioneer of Off-Off Broadway in the 70s and 80s as both a writer and an actor, frequently playing the female lead in his own shows, two of which wound up on the big screen - Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommy, Die. ...Allergist's Wife was written as a vehicle for television and theatre star Linda Lavin and was Busch's first play written for a more mainstream audience. The play ran nearly 800 performances on Broadway and received a Tony nomination for Best Play in 2001.

The story is about a wealthy, frustrated housewife, (who no doubt would protest the term "housewife") living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Having spent much of her adult life volunteering for different charities and no doubt living the life of a lady who lunches, Marjorie Taub's (played by Susan Rome) rope snaps while perusing porcelain figurines in a Disney Store. After her turn as a bull in a china shop, Marjorie finds herself in an existential mid-life crisis.

Her marriage to a retired doctor (Ira Traub, played by Paul Morella) is boring, her children hate her and her mother Frieda (Barbara Rappaport) lives simply to make Marjorie's life a living hell. In comes childhood pal, Lee Green (Lise Bruneau) to add some spark back into her life. Hijinx ensue and we learn a lot more about what's going on underneath.

I think what attracts me most to this play is that the comedy doesn't come from the absurd moment that's created, but from the very human reactions to it. There've been a million stories told of the ridiculous elite of the Upper East and Upper West Side of Manhattan, from The Nanny Diaries to The Devil Wears Prada, we're familiar with this brand of crazy.

The strong cast, introduced to us by the bellman, Mohammed (played inspiringly by Maboud Ebrahimzadeh), work well individually and even better as a tigh-knit ensemble. Susan Rome's Marjorie perfectly skates from crazy to reasonable and back again, allowing the audience the opportunity to embrace her obnoxiousness. She's never more than we want her to be. We all have that friend who is just ridiculous enough to stay in our good graces, but never push us so far that we don't want to be around them. Rome handles the character's awkwardness especially well - once again - never pushing too far, but far enough so that we can all relate.

The other cast standout is Lisa Bruneau as Lee Green-the worldly childhood friend, who we never quite know enough about. Her stories of hanging out with the Gorbachevs or Princess Diana are so marvelous, anyone would want them to be true. Her character has a beautiful mystery about her - a technique perfected by Charles Busch (a big fan of film noir and the detective mysteries of the 1940s). Bruneau is graceful, elegant and delightfully mischievous in the role.

Under the able direction of Eleanor Holdridge, THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE is certain to delight audiences. Her light hand and attention to detail help to create an environment anyone would feel welcome in. The set design by Caite Hevner Kemp, while dated, is certainly reminiscent of many Upper West Side apartments I've visited (also dated). This having been my first trip to Theater J, I greatly look forward to visiting again for their 2015-2016 season which looks quite promising.

THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE runs June 3 - July 5, 2015 at Theater J in the Washington DCJCC's Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater. Press night is Monday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. The performances on Wednesday, June 3 and Thursday, June 4 are pay-what-you-can previews. Performances on Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7 are $30 previews. On Thursday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m., the show will have open-captioning for the hearing impaired. There will be a special noon matinee on Friday, June 26. Tickets are available starting at $35 at theaterj.org or (800) 494-8497.

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