MAE WEST lives on — — despite leaving us on 22 November 1980 — — especially since the West Coast is now enjoying a refreshing interest in "Sex." Thanks to the Aurora Theatre's ability to spit-shine and polish a dusty 1926 script, a three-act melodrama written and staged by Mae West on Broadway at Daly's West 63rd Street Theatre fourscore and one year ago, audiences are realizing that nothing succeeds like SEX-cess. An excellent cast, under the effervescent direction of Tom Ross, is also helping to give the show the necessary SEX appeal.• • Writing for the Marin Independent Journal, Charles Brousse pens this fun-filled theatre review.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Ace casting of lead role sends 'Sex' into ecstacy • •
• • Sex ... in Berkeley? Well, why not? Just because there is a substantial population of pointy headed intellectuals there doesn't mean residents can't have fun.
• • But what if I were to add that it happens nightly in front of about 150 people gathered in the Aurora Theatre, a venue noted for productions of works by writers such as Harold Pinter, David Mamet, and Arthur Miller? Would you wonder if artistic director Tom Ross has lost his bloody mind?
• • OK, enough of a tease. The "Sex" we're talking about here isn't of the grunt and squeal variety. It's Mae West's 1926 play, the first of 13 that she used to showcase her considerable talents to live audiences and, not incidentally, promote a more profitable career on the silver screen.
• • After gathering dust in the Library of Congress for nearly three quarters of a century, the script was discovered by a persistent researcher and given a New York staging in 1999. Eventually, it found its way into Ross' hands and Aurora's leader confirmed that his producer's instincts were indeed in top form by recognizing that it works on two levels — — first, as an old-fashioned, somewhat (though not uncomfortably) bawdy entertainment and, second, as substantiation of the view that West's "strong woman" persona made her an important precursor of modern feminism. Top that off with the magic of its title and you have a hit in the making.
• • All of this might not have guaranteed a successful project if the right performer had not been available for the play's central role. Fortunately, just about the time when the "a-ha!" bulb was flashing in Ross' head, Bay Area actress Delia MacDougall, long known for her outstanding contributions to companies such as California Shakespeare, Berkeley Rep, and the Magic Theatre, was hanging around the Aurora auditioning for another show. On a whim, he gave her the "Sex" script to read; their shared enthusiasm grew, and she eventually passed up a higher-paying gig in this season's "A Christmas Carol" at ACT to take the part.
• • A good thing, too, because without MacDougall the evening could easily have degenerated into two hours of silliness. What distinguishes her performance is an ability to capture both the brassy and the vulnerable sides of her character's personality-contrasting qualities that are more evident in "Sex" than in West's subsequent plays and movies in which West's assertive, don't-mess-with-me public demeanor became so dominant that she was almost a caricature.
• • MacDougall plays Margy LaMont, a lithesome young Montreal prostitute. In the opening scene, she returns from "work" one night to discover Rocky (the appropriately sleazy Danny Wolohan), her pimp and occasional lover, about to force sex on a society woman named Clara (a fluttery Maureen McVerry), whom he has drugged after she comes to his club looking for excitement. Stung by the blame heaped on her by both the perpetrator and his victim, Margy decides she's had enough. On the advice of Lieutenant Gregg, a debonair naval officer and long time admirer (sympathetically portrayed by Steve Irish), she resolves to follow the fleet to Trinidad.
• • Scene 2, set in the Cafe Port au Prince, is essentially a series of loosely connected musical numbers (some vocal, including a pair of original songs by music director Billy Philadelphia, and some dance numbers nicely choreographed by Jayne Zaban) and comic bits that don't advance the plot very far but further illustrate her independent spirit.
• • Then, in the scene's final minutes, Margy meets and is wooed by an earnest — — and very rich — — young man named Jimmy Stanton (Robert Brewer), who falls madly in love with a woman he assumes is a fellow tourist. While concerned about the discrepancy, she allows herself to believe that his passion will overcome any obstacle.
• • It is here that the vulnerability surfaces. In a lengthy exchange with a skeptical Lt. Gregg, Margy notes that until then her relationships have all been about sex. As a result, she came to hate both men and herself. Now, for once, she is free to let her heart rule, although the going will be dangerous because she won't be able to control the situation with a quick retort, a flash of bravado or a comic double entendre. However briefly, MacDougall and the author let us look behind the mask at the real Mae West.
• • Despite Margy's misgivings, Scene 3 finds her engaged to Stanton and, at his insistence, visiting his parents' home in upstate New York. There, a big surprise (which I won't reveal) shatters the couple's illusions, but West, ever the optimist, manages to have her surrogate stumble on to a happy ending.
• • As must be evident from even this meager outline, "Sex" isn't a great work of dramatic art. Yet, it boasts an assemblage of vivid characters, sparkling repartee, and the kind of zestful anarchy that is infectious if properly done. By allowing MacDougall and the rest of the ensemble (including Kristin Stokes as Agnes, Margy's ingenuous acolyte, and Craig Jessup in a variety of minor roles) to engage in a joyful free-for-all that feels like a self-mocking spoof of itself, Ross takes us for a ride in the comic equivalent of a hot air balloon. It makes Margy's observation about herself (one of West's famous witticisms) seem just as apt when applied to the play as a whole: "When I'm good, I'm very very good. When I'm bad, I'm better!"
• • REVIEW — — "Sex," by Mae West
• • Where: Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley, Calif.
• • When: Through Dec. 9th, 2007; 510-843-4822
— — Source — —
• • Marin Independent Journal — — http://www.marinij.com/
• • Byline: Charles Brousse
• • Published on: 19 November 2007
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • Mae West was born on 17 August 1893 in Brooklyn, NY.
• • Mae West died on 20 November 1980 in Los Angeles, CA.
• • The Empress of Sex lives forever in our hearts.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1926 • •
NYC
Mae West.
No comments:
Post a Comment