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Before launching into a discussion of Norma & Wanda, a new play by Jeff Daniels, I wanted to make some comments on the new direction that the Purple Rose Theatre Company appears to be taking. As my five-cent disclaimer, please note that the following history of the PRTC is based on my general observations, not any formal interview and data gathering process.
It's not new for PRTC to change direction. When the decision was made a number of years ago to appoint Guy Sanville as artistic director to replace Newell Kring, along with a number of other changes, the PRTC launched into a long run of consistently solid, tightly-written and well-acted plays, highlighting new work. and local or regional playwrights. Their success allowed them to take on a major renovation project that resulted in establishing a brand new space. Since they opened in this new space, they have leaned more toward established works from more nationally known playwrights and building at least one "legacy" work into every season.
Beginning this past summer, things appear to have changed again. They have trimmed staff and appear to be focusing on box office draws. As part of this process, they appear to moving toward a more spontaneous theatrical style in the tradition of Charles Ludlam and his Ridiculous Theatre Company, whose play, The Mystery of Irma Vep, was produced by the PRTC this last fall. Ludlam would literally write his plays as they were in rehearsal and production.
PRTC has always approached new plays as works in progress, changing and adapting them during the rehearsal and preview process. But with Mitch Albom's Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, and now Jeff Daniel's Norma and Wanda, this process has been taken to an extreme. The result for PRTC so far, as it was with the Ridiculous Theatre Company, is productions that are more free-flowing than crafted, like an impressionist watercolor as opposed to a formal portrait in oil. For Ludlam, this approach gained his little New York based company international acclaim. It remains to be seen whether PRTC can sustain this approach in the midwest and whether it will result in the popular support that they have enjoyed in the past, and that they so richly deserve in the future.
This new approach is an important backdrop to a review of Norma & Wanda because the writing and structure are simply not as controlled in this approach as in a tighter writing process. It may also fall prey to quick fixes and contrivances. At the same time, the results can be more unpredictable and spontaneous, which lends itself best to comedy.
Norma & Wanda is the story of the Dembrowski sisters as they get themselves into what
seems to be yet another incident in a string of unfortunate holiday incidents.
Norma, played by Michelle Mountain, has chosen the traditional path of marriage
and domestication. Wanda, played by Sandra Birch, is the rebel, saying what
she means and bouncing from trouble to trouble while longing for a more traditional
life.
The play opens as Norma is making peanut butter balls in preparation for the upcoming church social and running to the store to get supplies so her husband Mel, played by Jim Porterfield, can make his special Christmas sausage. Wanda has dropped over to wait for the appearance of Paulie Perkins, played by Grant R. Krause, who she hired to do some special work for her. Meanwhile, Mary Sue Thornberry, played by Terry Heck, drops in to assist Norma in making the peanut butter balls. When Paulie shows up, they find out that the job he did for Wanda wasn't exactly what she had envisioned, with tragic results. This revelation catapults the group into an absurd sequence of interaction that rises in pitch until Mel shows up at the end of Act I.
In the second act, accusations and revelations abound, with the stakes rising until finally everyone is drawn into a loop of intrigue and a potentially unthinkable resolution. Finally, a surprise ending bails everyone out and almost everyone goes home happy.
The first act flies by, with a lot of fun, physical humor and rising action in trademark Jeff Daniel's style. As you might expect, a lot of the humor is edgy, and there is enough sexual innuendo to label this a play for adults only. During the second act, events turn darker and the irreverence level gets kicked up a notch, with the final scenes walking yet a new edge not yet seen at the PRTC. You'll have to judge for yourself whether the final bits are funny or simply tawdry.
Director
Guy Sanville mixes up the action, from long, silent moments to chaotic action
to move the play along quickly. The action drags a bit toward the end, largely
due to a number of extended silences. While silence is a very powerful director's
tool when there is a lot of depth in the relationships, the characters in Norma & Wanda are caricatures so the extended silences are filled, not with emotional
depth but with, well- silence. A number of devices are employed, by both the
writer and director that, as I experienced the play, call attention to themselves
and draw the audience away from the action of the play. Overall, Norma & Wanda has many funny moments, and takes a solid place in the tradition of absurdist
theatre.
It was good to see Dan Walker involved again with PRTC. His beautifully rendered set combined with Danna Segrest's props anchored the over-the-top characters into a real and traditional space, making the action, as ridiculous is it was, seem nearly believable. Somehow when Dan stepped down from his position at Performance Network, you knew he wouldn't be able to stay away from theatre for long. Christianne Myers' costumes echoed the set and also helped to sharply define the characters in a way that is highly consistent with the writing.
Norma & Wanda is scheduled to run through Saturday, March 19 with performances from Tuesday through Sundays. Call the PRTC Box Office at 734-433-ROSE (7673) for ticket reservations. The PRTC Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.