MENASHA, Wis. (WFRV)
Take the can-can, that headlong music-and-dance flurry of legs and skirts and whoop-de-doo sensuality. Now imagine a play with that flavor.
That would be “The Cure for Love.”
You are in France. Long ago France – 1835. You find yourself in a chateau. There, folks are “baroness” and “count” and “madame” … a lofty aura. But, my, my, my, what their lives are full of – the stuff of the quest of rabbits.
This play is awash with double entendre meanings and coy remarks and spicy interplay.
Playwright Jay Berkow’s play starts with a burst of overwrought ridiculousness and takes a while to catch a beat, but when that rhythm arrives, the thing flies. The production of Attic Chamber Theatre latches onto that rhythm, with director Berray Billington guiding the syncopation.
This and that about what is happening in five more performances to Sunday, Jan. 19, in Lucia Baehman Theatre of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Fox Cities Campus.
+ Music of the can-can, indeed, sets the tone. It is heard leading into the performance, again at intermission and, just to remind you of the frisky fun that took place, again during the bows (to a standing ovation on opening night Tuesday).
+ The performance space is square, with the audience on each side and in close proximity to the action.
+ The players wear wireless headsets. With “The Cure for Love,” Attic Chamber Theatre is using that sound system for the first time in a play. That means that when a player speaks in any direction, he or she can be distinctly heard. Such amplification greatly enhances the playgoing, eliminating those blank moments when an actor is speaking in the opposite direction of the listener.
+ Everybody in “The Cure for Love” has an important role.
Brandon Allen portrays Maurice, the progeny around whom the chateau turns. Maurice is love-smitten, outrageously so. His weeping and wailing starts the play. Poor fellow – incapacitated by infatuation.
Nancy Ernst portrays the baroness, Maurice’s mother. The baroness feels it her duty to set her woefully ailing boy on a corrected course, with the assistance of her son’s mistress. A visit to the chateau by the mistress will fill the bill, she feels. Mothers are so sensible.
Rachel Sandlin portrays Clotilde, Maurice’s wife. Flash forward a bit: The son, mother, wife and mistress are together in a scene for the first time. The mother and wife say they understand about you-know-who. “You understand?” the son says. And the mistress says, “How French we all are.” The teasing of the French adds a flavor to the play, and Rachel Sandlin’s pronounced bounce as she moves anyplace adds a flavor to her character.
Robert Ernst portrays the count, Clotilde’s uncle. The count’s world is filled with code words and subterfuge. He speaks of “moral compass” in his official/officious persona, while savoring his ties to the baroness that go way, way back to the degree that Maurice bears a striking resemblance to the count. Wink, wink.
Glen Kellerman, Jr. portrays Maurice’s friend from boyhood. Fabien is a dashing cad – kind of an orchestra director for the heated pace of the can-can. Fabien is played with flair.
Jo Snyder portrays the baroness’s harpy of a cousin. Madame de Neuille masterfully rubs everyone the wrong way, including butchering the made-up title of the mistress at every turn. Madame de Neuille is particularly well-defined. Jo Snyder’s lipstick shapes a blazing-red pucker. Her voice is that of a high-pitched, exaggerated creak.
Allison Klinker portrays Fernande, adored by many, mostly men (not exclusively; wink). Much playful eroticism surrounds the role, but Allison Klinker delves deeper as she explores the whys of the ways and allure of Fernande.
+ This is a period play – the 1835 upper-society France represented in the fine costuming and furnishings of the chateau.
+ Four entrances feed the action, with a faux marble floor (made with much effort) leading the eye to interior and exterior places.
+ Jay Berkow had a whole lot of fun creating this play. Double meanings tumble at every turn. He has a way with ending series of words with a joke, like a woman extolling the attributes men and capping them with “flatulence.” Jay Berkow creates scandalous situations for all of his characters and gleefully lets them play out with more than innuendo in a truly adult comedy. Oh, how French this play is – and played with a winking sense of fun by experienced players.
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Creative: Playwright – Jay Berkow; director – Berray Billington; stage manager – Ambre Neuser-Gajewski; technical director – John Dalziel; sound tech – Quinton Kingswan; lights – Juan Baez; costumes – Nancy Ernst, John Roberts, Sue Keisau, The Guthrie Theatre
Cast:
Maurice de Barthele – Brandon Allen
The Baroness de Barthele – Nancy Ernst
Clotilde de Barthele – Rachel Sandlin
The Count de Montigiroux – Robert Ernst
Fabien de Rieulle – Glen Kellerman, Jr.
Madame de Neuille – Jo Snyder
Fernande – Allison Klinker
Running time: Two hours, 18 minutes
Remaining performances: 7 p.m. Jan. 15-18 and 2 p.m. Jan. 19
Info: attictheatreinc.com
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NEXT: “The Outsider” by Paul Slade Smith, June 11-14, 16-19.
THE VENUE: Lucia Baehman Theatre is a 125-seat, rectangular space in the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Fox Cities Campus (name change as of July 12, 2019) Communication Arts Center. Lined by black stage curtains on each wall, the space serves as a black-box theater. There are no adornments, and the stage and space are adaptable to whatever a production needs. The adjacent lobby is spacious and includes a ticket office, snack service area, restrooms and spaces for art and photo displays. The center opened in 2009.
THE PEOPLE: Lucia Baehman and her husband, Stan, are longtime supporters of theater in the Fox River Valley.
