BWW Reviews: THEY DON'T PAY? WE WON'T PAY! at Ambassador Theater

There is little worse than a play that doesn't understand its purpose. They Don't Pay? We Won't Pay!, written by Dario Fo and produced by Ambassador Theater at the Mead Theatre Lab, cannot decide what it wants to be. Instead, the production vacillates between heavy-handed social commentary and overacted comedy. Despite a few strong performances, the production is weighed down by its cumbersome message and leaves the audience confused instead of inspired.

Originally written as a working class critique of 1970s Italy, this production of They Don't Pay? We Won't Pay! has been set in a modern day Newark, New Jersey, based on the playwright's instructions that the script reflect the issues of each production's locale. It's a good thing that this was explained in the program notes, because nothing about Rachael Knoblauch's bland set, Sigridur Johannesdottir's nondescript costumes, or the cast's inconsistent and inaccurate Jersey accents create a recognizable city of any kind, much less Newark. The script is littered with references to modern social ills: the bank bailout, the 99%ers, and in a particularly tone-deaf moment, a flippant remark about the police force of Ferguson. These references feel like a mechanical cut-and-paste gesture. The production feels desperate instead of relevant, trying and failing to prove itself a legitimate piece of social criticism. Multiple references to the pope have been replaced by pantomimed descriptions of the "old pope", apparently because Fo thinks that Pope Francis is an improvement over his predecessor. This change is once again inscrutable to anyone who hasn't read the director's note. Why such attention was paid to the absent playwright's wishes, to the detriment of the production, is truly baffling.

They Don't Pay? We Won't Pay! is inspired by commedia dell'arte and farcical humor. The absurd story of two poor women hiding stolen food from their law-abiding husbands by pretending to be pregnant earned laughs through its first act. Darren Marquardt's Giovanni especially stands out, as he managed to keep the laughs coming through a particularly long monologue about the miracle of birth. Hanna Bondarewska's Antonia shines as she scrambles to keep her increasingly complex lies intact. However, these moments of lightness are overshadowed by conversations about evil bankers and government officials shoehorned into otherwise comedic scenes.

The production spins out of control in its second act, when Joe Martin's already loose direction devolves into chaos. Many scenes seem under-rehearsed at best, and some, like the ill-placed dream sequence, seem not to be blocked at all. The second act overstays its welcome, finally ending with a nonsensical epilogue delivered straight to the audience and an out-of-tune protest song. By the end of the production, the laughs have dried out and the audience is eager to leave. Unfortunately, They Don't Pay? We Won't Pay! fails both as a comedy and as political theater, leaving audiences without a reason to celebrate its few strengths.

They Won't Pay? We Won't Pay! runs at the Mead Theater Lab until March 26th, 2016. More information available here.

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