Though I see many student-produced plays, I make a point of only reviewing the ones which I can give a 5/5. This is because when I criticize the work of people I may know or run into at a later date, it quickly morphs from a detailed dissection of the piece and becomes me shit-talking people’s talent on the internet. I mention this only to emphasize just how scared I was walking into Niki Rice’s production of Wendy McLeod’s classic "House of Yes." Jousted out of Bard’s Old Gym theater and with all other locations being used presumably by senior projects, the venue for the performance was allocated to a frighteningly handicapped stage: a particularly large room in Bard’s Hegemon building. However, wonderful performances by talented actors as well as creative direction and a brilliant script not only mask the disability, they laugh at it.
I must confess that I am somewhat biased as ‘House of Yes’ is one of my favorite plays. The story follows Marty Pascal, an elder child to a wealthy family who returns to his childhood home in Washington for Thanksgiving, bringing with him his new fiancée Lesly. Waiting for him are his insane and Onassis-obsessed twin Jackie, his romantic and conniving drop-out younger brother Anthony, and his cold, aloof mother. Throw in a hurricane, a black-out, and a game reenacting the assassination of J.F.K. and the scene is set for an intentionally uncomfortable character piece where the family is forced to confront their past sins and Lesly has to come to term with just who she is and who she’s marrying. The play is in one act, allowing for only very brief breaks in the fast-paced dialogue as the stage is reset. It is one of the best of its genre and, even if it isn’t in this particular production, I suggest you take any chance to see it performed.
Make no mistake though, the incredible merits of this production deserve more than I can give them. With criminally limited space allotted to them, director Niki Rice and assistant director Miranda Shulman still managed to block and organize a terrific show and clearly didn’t have to work hard to pull terrific performances out of their actors. Lucas McGill as Marty captured the ideal of a man seeking sanity that begrudgingly reintroduces himself to a house of madness. John Istona’s Anthony blends the lines between his performance and his lies, making it hard for even the audience to know when he’s telling the truth and when he’s trying to get laid. Lesly is put into the capable hands of Piper de Palma who treats her as the perfect foil to the insane family drama she is marrying into while suffering through the belittlement heaped upon her upper-crust in-laws. Catherine Bloom is properly frigid and bitchy as the elderly Mrs. Pascal while also displaying genuine maternal instinct in a performance subtly reminiscent of Jessica Walter or Lena Headey. However, the show is easily stolen by a giggling Gia Gonzales as Jackie. Her peppy performance carries McLeod’s rapid-fire wit like an enthusiastic caterer, ready, willing, and able to serve up palpable tension and sincere comic timing. Gonzales injects just enough insane energy into her performance to carry both the humor and the terror of an enabled mental illness without drifting into overacting, no small feat considering how silly the role can be played.
With such a small space and limited seating, Rice and Shulman took command of every square foot they were afforded. The set consisted of a simple lounge chair, a small coffee table, a lamp, drapes, and a few sheets, a limited staging but each piece makes itself useful many times over. The makeshift backstage was created by draping a pair of tarps on both sides of the main set at such an angle that attention was driven not to them, but between them. The space there must have been quite cramped and difficult to maneuver in, much less change in, which may have been the factor that resulted in a few on-stage costume changes. The lighting was made possible by onstage Christmas lights, the aforementioned lamp, and a white paper over the room’s projector. All managed to light the show well enough, but the main light source throughout the entire show remained the window behind the drapes which remained uncovered, allowing natural light to illuminate the performance. Although I’m sure this was a necessary compromise insisted upon by spatial limitations, the window was a source of almost constant distraction which was only interrupted by the terrific performances and engaging play.
Ultimately, the performance was a wonderful evening well spent. The entertainment was engaging, the actors comfortable, and made all the more impressive considering the stage they were using. But this same factor that makes their work impressive makes it almost more fascinating than enjoyable. Like a racecar wining a race with a boot on one wheel, it’s truly a spectacle, but a major factor is the surreal impossibility of it happening. If this show ran longer, I would insist that more people see it, but as is all I can do is advise everyone to see more work from everyone involved, hopefully when they don’t have such a hump to overcome and can stretch their theatrical prowess on a stage that rather than fighting them, enables. 5/5
