Shape-shifting and Other Puzzles in 'The Pillow Book'

Deb (Julie Fitzpatrick), Deb (Vanessa Wasche) and John (Eric Bryant) in “The Pillow Book.” Photos by Mike Klar.

BY TAMARA BECK

IN “The Pillow Book,” marriage and personality are open to infinite possibilities.

There is confusion at the core of Anna Moench’s new play and it may have to do with Deb’s (Julie Fitzpatrick) and John’s (Eric Bryant) debate over having children and the difficulties such decisions often pose for couples. Or maybe it is about the greater confusion of the heart, of whom we love, and who we are.

Whatever the reasons for the bemusement in “The Pillow Book,” premiering at 59E59 Theaters through 20 Aug., identities are in flux. The couple try on different personas and histories. John is married to Deb, the lawyer or he is married to Deb (Vanessa Wasche), the doctor or guide on the Serengeti.

Like Eugene Ionesco’s “The Bald Soprano,” in which seemingly ordinary characters are never what or who they seem, “The Pillow Book” is an absurdist work with its shape-shifter Debs and the uncertain John. But ultimately, “The Pillow Book” is about caring – for children, for pets, for each other, even for the environment.

John (Eric Bryant) and Deb (Vanessa Wasche) are an odd couple in "The Pillow Book."

AM, who in her stage directions describes the play as “a fluid collage of experiences and thoughts,” is one of the 2011 class of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group. (See http://www.bit.ly/kdOIoi).

Apparently, the play’s title draws its inspiration from a 10th century work by a lady of the Japanese court, Sei Shōnagon, whose free-form commentary on daily life and observations of events was kept as loose notes in a diary, or “pillow book,” something you write before retiring for the night. To underscore the title’s meaning, the characters arrange and rearrange a series of pillows, in a set designed by Maruti Evans, as each scene changes.

The timeline in “The Pillow Book” is the present, or the past, or the parallel or the imagined, but it makes pains to never predict the future.

While the work’s flights of fancy into elephant-hunting versus elephant tourism are snappy and diverting, it is the debate over having children, and Deb’s (JF) reasons not to, that is the most interesting part of the story in “The Pillow Book.”

Deb (Julie Fitzpatrick), Deb (Vanessa Wasche) and John (Eric Bryant) mix it up in “The Pillow Book.”

To be sure, there are promising sparks of intuition and “The Pillow Book” is conceptually interesting. It offers some kernels of connection in its odd plot. Ultimately, however, this play is mired in its own philosophical conundrums.

Visit http://www.59e59.org/ to learn more about “The Pillow Book.”

The Pearl Staging Revival of Absurd, 'The Bald Soprano'
Speaking of “The Bald Soprano,” it will have a revival under the direction of Hal Brooks at The Pearl Theatre Company from 13 Sept. through 23 Oct. at City Center's Stage II. Theatre of the absurd is a style of dramaturgy pioneered in France in the 1940s and that continued through the 1960s. It has strong ties to existential philosophy and investigating the meaning and purpose of life and presupposing that who we are is determined by our imaginations.

Visit http://http://www.pearltheatre.org/ to learn more about “The Bald Soprano.”

3fer: 'La Bête' 'A Life in the Theatre' 'The Sneeze'

Joanna Lumley, Mark Rylance and David Hyde Pierce, above, in “La Bête." Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight, middle, in "A Life in the Theatre." Bottom, Chris Mixon and Rachel Botchan in "Drama" from "The Sneeze." Photos from www.labetetheplay.com, Carol Rosegg and Gregory Costanzo, respectively.

BY TAMARA BECK

JUST because they are theater, doesn’t mean they are theatrical. Following is my take on three.

With little to recommend David Hirson’s “La Bête” but its failure on Broadway in 1991, it’s hard to see the need for this revival. It’s a mess not even the accomplished Mark Rylance (Valere), the talented David Hyde Pierce (Elomire), the excellent Stephen Ouimette (Bejart) can put in order. Joanna Lumley’s (The Princess) sends us a postcard from a soap opera; her under-the-top performance lacks charm, wit or even camp. (See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Un8-vfcW0&feature=player_embedded).

Set in the 1600s, “La Bête” is about a troupe of actors whose patron, The Princess, forces the company to take in a self-aggrandizing fool, or lose her patronage. It is also a farce about philistines at the gates. Director Matthew Warchus indulges too much of the chaos for which he has been praised, but thanks to the impeccable timing of his cast he serves the script’s rhyming verse well; it moves along, without any one actor stepping on another’s lines - brief respites from the monotony.

Meanwhile, they meet by the stage door after the show, the young actor, John (T.R. Knight), and the old actor, Robert (Patrick Stewart), and compliment each other’s performance. They dish about co-stars we will never see and criticize each other ever so delicately.

They rehearse a variety of scripts as if they are a two-man rep company.

Stagehands move flats and bring in props. The actors act out scenes or put on grease paint. The actors change costumes at least two dozen times. We see them as WWI soldiers on the front lines; shipwrecked sailors on the “salty, salty water;” as civilized gents in Robert’s office discussing that fact that John knows that Robert is the father of the child his wife is bearing; at sword play in fanciful costumes. They are stretching and exercising at a barre.

It is a droning 88 minutes that David Mamet takes from us for his “A Life in the Theatre,” a Broadway hit in 1977.

The monotony here is broken up by a few funny scenes such as Robert doing a send-up of a “Les Miz”-type drama. Plenty of slapstick, and an entertaining bit has the French flag flapping in front of his face as Robert loses his wig. The audience was content to laugh at much less broad comedy. Even scene changes got applause. DM’s signature repetition of lines elicited a hearty response, too.

Inexplicably drawing laughs was an exchange between John and Robert that went something like this:

Robert: So, you’re off.
John: Yes, I’m off. I’m hungry.
Robert: You’re hungry, I can’t eat after a performance. Well, so, you’re off.

DM, who is often prolifically profane (“Glengary Glen Ross,” “Speed the Plow”), to his credit shows considerable restraint here, using the “f “ and “c” words only sparingly.

A livelier and more vibrant way for life to be spent in the theater is with “The Sneeze.” These vignettes based on Anton Chekhov’s stories and plays by Michael Frayn (“Noises Off”) are played out by The Pearl Theatre Company.

“The Sneeze” is directed by the company’s first-year director, J.R. Sullivan, with gusto. Set in a rural Russian theater, the interludes between scenes include some singing, some dancing.

The actors have excellent timing. Among the players, Chris Mixon stands out for his physical comedy in the title piece as well as in “Drama” and particularly in the finale, “The Proposal.” He is joined by Rachel Botchan, a veteran of the 26-year-old company in an equally stellar turn in “Drama” and “The Proposal.” The actors are not the only ones in the ensemble who merit a mention. Lee Stark as an inconsolable widow and Bradford Cover, the man who has come to collect her late husband’s debt in “The Bear,” give piquantly uproarious performances.

The production has a great balance of comedy and romance.

Visit http://www.labetetheplay.com/ to learn more about “La Bête; http://www.broadwaysbestshows.com/show/A-Life-in-the-Theatre to learn more about “A Life in the Theatre," and http://www.pearltheatre.org/index.php to learn more about “The Sneeze.”