Rep Stage: Back to School with 'Mrs. Farnsworth'

◊◊◊◊ out of five.

I remember when I was in college I used to pray that my more interesting classes would be on Tuesdays and Thursdays ? 85 minutes of interesting, sure beats the hell out of 85 minutes of uninterrupted boredom twice a week.  Were I attending a Manhattan college creative writing course taught by Gordon Bell, I'd be very relieved.  His class, also known as Mrs. Farnsworth by A. R. Gurney, is challenging, timely and certainly entertaining.  No, it isn't perfect.  Every class has its dull spots.  But the teacher and his class (and an unwanted surprise guest) more than make up for any shortcomings.

I hesitate to call this production a play; it really is played like being in a college class... it is being performed by Rep Stage in an actual lecture hall/classroom (Room N220) on the Howard Community College campus, and features a teacher who uses the dry erase board and challenges his students' ideas.  Even the students in the class, who sit among the audience, take notes and ask questions (no worries ? no class participation is required).  In fact, the only time the "class" gets bogged down to almost a halt is when Gurney injects some theatrical conventions that really don't ring true in the context of the rest of the piece.  This happens particularly when a character addresses the audience and another character in a way that suggests that he is acting a scene, rather than it is just "happening" like the rest of the play.  I blame this almost completely on the author because the words don't seem honest, but rather rehearsed and decidedly didactic.  The actor never behaves this way otherwise, and the direction (sharp and realistically detailed by Steven Carpenter) remains consistent save for this tedious "side trip." 

When class starts, part-time instructor Bell (Jason Schuchman) lets us know that Mrs. Farnsworth wants to read her writing first.  Trouble is Mrs. Farnsworth is late.  So we briefly meet the other students in the class (Grace Anastasiadas, Shelby Sours and Daniel Lee Townsend), who later become very involved with the class.  Just as we are about to hear an ode to a house cat, Mrs. Farnsworth (Helen Hedman) arrives, late and breathless, a victim of a late train.  She insists on going first ? she has only a paragraph to share and needs our help to go from there.  Her paragraph concerns the privileged girls of Vassar on a ski trip with the Yale boys in the 1960's, and the issue of trust.  Insisting that the rest of her story has major political implications, she continues to outline her "book" which serves to implicate ? with a little prodding from the teacher ? that college indiscretions made by a certain leader of our country are at definite odds with his current political agenda.  Well, smelling a best seller and a way to affect "real" change in the direction of our country ? NOT the War in Iraq, they insist, by the War on Hypocrisy and Truth!  Enter Mr. Farnsworth (Mitchell Hebert), a villain first because he is, zounds!, a REPUBLICAN, and second, but more rightfully, because he took his wife's draft, copied it, sent it to a lawyer "just in case", and burned the original!  Boo hiss, right?  Literally, the man is booed when he shows up.  Anyway, like any good politician (Democrat or Republican, let's be fair), he works around this negativity and spins so as to cast doubt on the validity of his wife's claims and on her very sanity ? all by pointing out her WASP tendencies, and reminding us all that even though she is a proud Democrat, she sure laps up the life of a Republican! 

Faster than you can say "George W. Bush", the audience should be seeing that the lines are blurry no matter your party affiliation, though the deck is decidedly stacked against "W" and his followers.  This is where Gurney's play gets the most interesting ? on the surface, it is more of the same tired Bush-bashing, but it really opens up the possibility of whole government bashing, implying correctly that no one in the government acts alone.  But even more so, the play is about the American class system and how the privileged few are an insular lot.  And, as acted, this is a fascinating character study, regardless of its political ambitions. 

All three young actors who play the students do fine work, all three an excellent blend of youthful angst/boredom and self-awareness, balanced by outbursts of righteous indignation and camaraderie.  As the teacher, himself with an agenda, Jason Schuchman is terrific, consistently in the moment and always acting the college professor.  His takes and body language serve as a guide to how we are "supposed to feel" about the events as they unfold, and his charisma takes us right along with him.  Mr. Farnsworth, played with blustery underhandedness by Mitchell Hebert, is a difficult role to play: he is the villain and is saddled with the biggest lapse in the "class not play" conceit this production uses.  Still, Hebert plays him with such fervor, you can't help but at least stop and think maybe he's right (whether he is or not is never answered, which makes the play stick with you long after class is dismissed).  And his shifty eyes, blustery "ahhhs" and verbal assaults on his thoroughly loveable wife contribute to a character so easy to dislike, and yet still want on your side when things get sticky. 

The real gem of the evening is absolutely delightful performance by Helen Hedman, who charms us with her grandmother's wit and wisdom and her cute way of being disheveled... mainly with a messy purse and outward disdain for her ritzy socialite neighbors in Connecticut, which makes her an "everywoman" instantly.  So sincere is Ms. Hedman's performance that one truly worries about her well-being, and one thoroughly believes that she is a prisoner in a life that most of us would kill to have.  And, boy, can she land a joke!  Her Mrs. Farnsworth is so sweet and genuine; one can't help but be as drawn to her as her teacher and classmates come in a matter of 90 minutes. 

Mrs. Farnsworth offers so much to like, and is a fantastic way for Rep Stage to begin its 16^th season of professional theatre.  Late in the play, Mr. Farnsworth talks about good writing being subtle and purposely ambiguous; Gurney is at his best when his language is just that.  Politicos still hungry for a chance to mock, be disgusted with, and shake their heads at our commander-in-chief will love the chance to attack once more like sharks on a bucket of chum.  Fans of good acting and an interesting environmental staging will also be very happy.  And no one should leave it without having something to think about ? like all good Americans, Democrat or Republican. 

PHOTOS: By Stan Baroh.  TOP to BOTTOM: Helen Hedman and Jason Schuchman; Helen Hedman and Mitchell Hebert

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