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Laurie Callaway Laurie Reviews Gilding the Lily in St. Mark's Place Bernard Shaw was a harsh critic. One example of his witty, scathing style is Widowers' Houses, now being presented by the Pearl Theatre Company of St. Mark's Place. Houses is one of Shaw's earliest works and a slight awkwardness shows through the cleverness. Still, it is enjoyable overall. Most of the performances are well delivered and understated, but they are marred by the histrionics of a few actors. Houses could fulfill its promise to be engaging and meaningful if only the 'drama' were reduced. The plot revolves around Dr. Harry Trench (Sean McNall), a young, eager man just finished with medical school and prime for marriage. He is an easy target for the crafty, impetuous Blanche Sartorius (Rachel Botchan) who sees him as an ardent husband. Blanche's father, the landlord Sartorius (Dan Daily) also looks on Trench as a propitious match for his daughter because of a strategically important mortgage that the doctor holds. Trench's traveling companion, Mr. William de Burgh Cokane (Dominic Custern) assists in brokering the marriage deal between the doctor and Sartorius, hoping to become a favored friend of the wealthy landlord. The bargain starts to fall through when the idealistic Trench realizes where his future father-in-law's money comes from. Sean McNall is the center of the play. His Dr. Trench is brimming with ideas and energy and honesty. When the good doctor is confronted with his own ignorant complicity in an abhorrent scheme, his shock is heartfelt. Dominic Custern is also perfect as Dr. Trench's stuffy, pretentious companion, Mr. Cokane. Custern easily conveys Cokane's self-centered morality as we see him double-deal his friend and advise tact and respect at the same time. Edward Seamon is memorable as well for his portrayal of Lickcheese, Sartorius' guilt-ridden super and extortionist. The false notes struck in the performance come from actors who are trying to hard to achieve their desired effect. Rachel Botchan as Blanche seems to have no understanding of how to convey subtle emotion. With this actress, every word is one of great noise or drooping limbs and eyes. It is impossible to find any kind of gradation in Ms. Botchan's debacle. To compound her mistakes, Ms. Botchan also does not know what kinds of behavior would be acceptable from her character Ð a young, unmarried, well-bred woman of class Ð during the 19th century. She appears to think that it would be appropriate to clasp a man tightly and grope him while whispering sweet nothings. Also jarringly out of character are Edward Griffin as the waiter and Robin Leslie Brown as the parlormaid. Mr. Griffin does his best effete French waiter caricature despite the fact that his character is a German waiter. Ms. Brown never seems to appear on stage unless she is grimacing, fidgeting, crying, or laughing hysterically. Given that the play is not set in a madhouse, Ms. Brown is very disconcerting. It is temping to wonder what Shaw's Houses would be like if it were performed by a completely able cast. The play looks fascinating and it raises some very good questions. Unfortunately, its merits are buried under a mountain of over-acting. Since Shaw's words are fluid and captivating on their own, there is no need for extra embellishment on the part of the actors. Any decoration obscures from the point of the play. |