Re: Fw: Off Broadway West Theatre Company presents Lillian Groag's THE LADIES...
THE LADIES OF THE CAMELLIAS
Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
The Off Broadway West Theatre Company is currently performing Lillian Groag's tour de farce: THE LADIES OF THE CAMELLIAS.
Rarely does an intimate, under 99-seat, theatre achieve such superlative production standards as this little jewel presently ensconced at the cozy Phoenix Theatre on Mason Street in San Francisco.
Alameda's own: Joyce Henderson burnishes this well crafted script; paying close attention to all the details that distinguish the true art of the stage from mere acting, strutting and fretting.
The entire cast is clearly dedicated to the art of theater as well as to its entertainment value.
In addition to directing the show, MS Henderson shares a leading lady role as la Regina della Italiana Stage: Signorina Eleonora Duse.
A collaborative effort by the company has created a coherent and convincing set design—a welcome rarity amongst small theaters—that clearly establishes the period and the place this well researched piece of sophisticated yet farcical comedy.
Playwright Lillian Groag uses delicate, veiled language to politely describe the twisted and sordid details surrounding these two high-maintenance divas of the nineteen century European stage.
The script achieves a cautious balance: ribald but not tawdry, risqué but not profane, bawdy but not vulgar.
If you attend the play you might listen carefully to the discreet language used by Benoit (superbly played by Graham Crowley) as he recounts his train ride, escorting a naughty over-sexed monkey, to Marseilles.
Fortunately, for the sake of decorum, the clarity of Benoit's narrative side-steps any anatomic details: mon dieu: the monkey was certainly no Curious George.
While the performing arts are chronically under-funded, this play is graced by period costumes by Hemihar, that resourcefully, almost magically, rise to the expected level of opulence and indulgence known to have been enjoyed by the main characters.
Barbara Michelson-Harder (Sarah Bernhardt) provides an exceptional performance: at times she expresses herself silently yet eloquently with barely perceptible gestures, huffy affected poses, eye movements, furtive glances, and body English: this woman speaks volumes with animated nuance bordering on mime.
While the leading ladies are nearly over the top as actresses playing actresses, Richard Harder (as Alexander Dumas) is at a slight disadvantage when it come to stage presence: he is playing a reserved writer trying to patiently protect his script from deviations irreverently implemented by Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse; his dignity, poise and chiseled articulation establish his character remarkably well.
If you enjoy a bit of history mixed in with your comedy, and appreciate a theater company that goes the extra kilometer to provide you a class act, this is your show.
Tickets can be reserved by calling 800 838-3006; the Phoenix Theatre is at 414 Mason Street (between Geary and Post).
Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food.