Jordan Harrison's Maple and Vine (his Kid-Simple: a Radio Play in the Flesh was in the 2004 Humana Festival followed by his Act a Lady in the 2006 festival) offers an intriguing premise about New Yorkers with urban angst voluntarily joining a group living as a community emulating the Eisenhower-era lifestyle of 1955, dressing and interacting as people did back then when rigidity and repression ruled the way everyone was supposed to be.
But while it is fun to see how people looked and interacted (and how shocking it would have been to view a homosexual encounter) the play comes through as a clever exercise that loses steam as it went along. Directed by Anne Kauffman with far too many scene changes, the attractive cast (Kate Turnbull and Peter Kim as the angst-ridden New York couple, Jeanine Serralles and Paul Niebanck as their "handlers" in the Society of Dynamic Obsolescence, and Jesse Pennington as the sex partner of Niebanck's character, are all fine.
Opened:
March 4, 2011
Ended:
April 3, 2011
Country:
USA
State:
Kentucky
City:
Louisville
Company/Producers:
Actors Theater of Louisville
Theater Type:
Regional
Theater:
Actors Theater of Louisville
Theater Address:
316 West Main Street
Website:
actorstheatre.org
Running Time:
2 hrs
Genre:
Drama
Director:
Anne Kaufman
Review:
Cast:
Kate Turnbull (Katha), Peter Kim (Ryu), Paul Niebanck (Dean), Jeanine Serralles (Ellen/Jenna), Jesse Pennington (Roger/Omar).
Critic:
Charles Whaley
Date Reviewed:
April 2011
