Elizabeth Huffman
and Jacqueline Reid star in Boston Marriage, now
playing at FUSION Theatre Company
photo © 2008
Richard K. Hogle
So
much depends upon an auger
FUSION Theatre Company, Albuquerque’s own
professional theatre company, continues its 2007/8
season with
a special Mamet Month, anchored by the regional
premiere of the great American playwright's unusual
and witty Boston
Marriage.
Opening night at The Cell Theatre, Thursday April
24, features an opening reception at 7 pm with an
8 pm curtain.
Reservations are recommended.
While no stranger to Albuquerque boards, the Mamet
works FUSION is producing are sterling, unusual efforts
from the writer of American Buffalo, Glengarry
Glen Ross, and Oleanna and
films like The
Postman Always Rings Twice and House
of Games. Headlining our month-long festival
is Boston Marriage, written in 1999.
Taking its title from a 19th century euphemism
for two women living together intimately, Boston
Marriage centers on two women, Anna and
Claire, struggling to negotiate the intricate twists
and turns of their complex relationships with one
another as well as others in their household. Featuring
brilliant Victorian-era dialog, sprinkled with delightful
vernacular zest, Mamet has created a funny, witty
and acerbic portrait that provides a brilliant vehicle
for its principal actors.
FUSION's all-Actors Equity production is directed
by Albuquerque fave Robb Sisneros (who most recently
directed Tennessee Williams' Mister Paradise at
FUSION) and stars newcomer Elizabeth Huffman and
FUSION standouts Jacqueline
Reid (Madagascar) and
Jen Grigg (The Lieutenant of Inishmore).
Make
Reservations Now
for our special one-weekend
Mamet Festival
FUSION Theatre Company
continues its 2008
Mamet Festival as the company
leads you into the brain of this great
American playwright.
Delving into rarely produced short pieces
from The
Old Neighborhood and
The Blue Hour, FUSION
takes you on a jazzy, entertaining Mamet-of-a-ride.
Opening night
at The Cell Theatre, Thursday May 22, features
a “deep dish” reception at
7 pm with an 8 pm curtain.
As an added bonus, we
will feature free screenings
of two wonderful Mamet films. After the
Thursday performance of "Being
David Mamet" (10 PM screen time),
we will show Wag
the Dog on
our beautiful, big screen. Prior to the
Sunday matinee
(11 AM), we will show Glengarry
Glen Ross. Free!
Come join the fun!
David Mamet, writer of such greats as Oleanna and Glengarry
Glen Ross, brings an intimate,
urban consciousness to his short works
highlighting dynamics of family, relationships,
and the
inevitable need for connection within the
human journey – all with a great
sense of perspective and humor. Performers
include
Maria Ashna, Evan Garrett, David Lang,
Desiree Lang, Justin Lenderking, Diane
McGee and Laurie
Thomas.
The Mamet Festival runs one
weekend only, with Thursday through
Saturday, May 22-24 performances at 8 pm
and a
Sunday matinee on May 25 at 2 pm. Thursday's
performance is preceeded by a special "Deep
Dish" Chicago-style reception at 7 pm for
only $5 more!
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Boston Marriage continues through
May 18 with Thursday through Saturday performances
at 8 pm and Sunday matinees at 2 pm. The Mamet Festival
runs May 22 through May 25 at the same times. For
tickets and information, use our
convenient on-line ticket marketplace or call 766-9412. Tickets are
$25 for general
admission, $20 for students and seniors. Thursday
performances (excluding opening night) feature a
$10 student rush (with valid I.D.) and $18 actor
rush
(with professional resume.) Group discounts are also
available.
Free parking is plentiful. FUSION performs at The
Cell, which is
located at 700 1st St. N.W. (just west of Broadway
and south of Lomas.) Click on "Location"
menu item above for a map.
Barry
Gaines, review, April 26, 2008, The
Albuquerque Journal:
"David Mamet is one of America’s most influential playwrights (as
well as an actor, screenwriter, director, essayist, and biblical exegete). His
early plays are famous for street-smart, macho characters spouting a clipped,
crafted, and profoundly profane patois that has been labeled “mametspeak.” However,
one charge against Mamet has been that his female characters fizzle and fail.
Mamet’s Boston Marriage, being presented in a scintillating
production by the FUSION Theatre Company at the Cell Theatre, is a three-woman
play that demonstrates Mamet’s ability to write against expectation. The
play is set in a Victorian drawing room and features elegantly refined dialogue
where obscenities occasionally explode like farts in church (the line is Mamet’s).
The
term “boston marriage” describes two women who live together
independently and share emotional, if not always sexual, intimacy. The term
appeared after Henry James featured such a couple in his novel “The Bostonians.” In
Mamet’s play, Anna and Claire have shared a long-term sexual relationship.
Claire returns to Anna’s parlor after a prolonged absence to find her
wearing an outsized ruby, a family heirloom given to her by her new lover/patron.
(Anna
explains, “I wear it, should I be summoned on the instant, to choke a
horse.”)
Claire wishes to bring a new young love interest to Anna’s home for seduction.
The two ladies explore their relationships in dazzling monologues and Wilde-ly
witty repartee. The plot takes unexpected turns that I won’t reveal.
The
third woman is the maid, Catherine, who is alternately ignored and berated
by “her betters.” All three ladies are in a similar situation
of seeking self-sufficiency in a man’s world.
It is a joy to watch Elizabeth
Huffman as Anna and Jacqueline Reid as Claire together. Under the direction
of Rob Sisneros, they cajole, commiserate,
whine, and insult, but whether reclining on the fainting couch, sitting
on the tête-à-tête
loveseat, or serving tea, they are in constant emotional contact. Though
the rapidity of their patter makes some lines difficult to catch, the acting—and
reacting—are riveting and the timing precise. Huffman and Reid wisely
recognize that since the script is funny, they don’t need to “act” funny.
Jen Grigg, pneumatically inflated by costume designer Cassidy Zachary,
does well in the role of the Maid. Together the three actresses sustain
a continuously
comic creation—through two intermissions."
Matt Gees, review, Australian
Broadcasting Corporation:
"Boston Marriage is a fast-paced play with great humour,
subtle sarcasm and a storyline that will leave your head spinning and a smile
plastered across your face."
Richard Brucher, review, University
of Maine, Orono:
"Boston Marriage is a brilliantly clever, serious play."
Kevin Johnson, review, talkinbroadway.com:
"The play is fused with sexual innuendo; estrogen and ego create a deadly
combination."
Elizabeth Huffman
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ELIZABETH
HUFFMAN*
is the founder and Artistic Director of ICAP
Theatre Company in Los Angeles. With ICAP
she directed and adapted Bon Ton
Roulet at
the Shakespeare Café that was performed
at the Theatertage Festival in Hanau Germany
this past October, as well as The Rope, Night
Breath, (selected to represent the
USA at the Playoff ’06 Festival in Germany) Troilus
and Cressida, and Landscape
of Dreams in Seven Movements. Other directing projects
include:
The Trojan Women/Iphigenia in Aulis, The
Two Noble Kinsmen, As You
Like It, The Gift Horse with Alfred Molina and Harold Gould, Playing
with the Gods, Merry Wives
of Windsor, The
Revenger’s Tragedy, The
Liars, and The
Tempest at the Mark Taper Amphitheatre. As
an actress she recently performed the role
of “ Natalie” in The
Siege of Leningrad and garnered critical acclaim for her role
as “ Lady Wishfort” in The
Way of the World, both with ICAP. Elizabeth has acted
leading roles in Charley’s Aunt, Summertime,
Iphigenia in Aulis, The
Bald Soprano, Whale
Watchers, The Libertine, Trelawney
of the Wells,
A Month in the Country, The
Man of Mode, Hyde
Park, The Lucky Chance, The
Brute, Under the
Gaslight, Playboy of the Western
World and
played “ Lady Macbeth” in a five
star award winning production of Macbeth at
the Edinburgh Theatre Festival.
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Jacqueline Reid
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JACQUELINE
REID* is a founding member of FUSION.
Most recently at FUSION, she was “June” in
JT Rodgers’ Madagascar.
She directed FUSION’s
world premiere of Mad Hattr,
as well as this season's acclaimed Doubt and The
Lieutenant of Inishmore. She played “Beth” in
Craig Wright’s Orange Flower
Water, “Vera” in The
Fat Man's Wife, “Catherine” in Suddenly
Last Summer, “Amanda” in Private
Lives, the title role in Hedda
Gabler, “Laura” in The
Glass Menagerie, “Stella” in A
Streetcar Named Desire, “Dancer” in The
Eight: Reindeer Monologues, “Kate” in The
Taming of the Shrew, “Zelda
Fitzgerald” in Bye, Bye Blackbird, “Anna” in Closer, “Elizabeth” in The
Art of Dining, and “Maggie” in Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof. Regional lead
roles include Romeo & Juliet, Agnes
of God, and Crimes of the
Heart. Recent television credits
include the series In Plain Sight,
Unsolved Mysteries and True
Confessions, in which she starred
with Adam Arkin. She is a BFA graduate of
The North Carolina School of the Arts.
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Jen Grigg
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JEN
GRIGG† most
recently played "Mairead" in
FUSION's hair-raising production of Martin
McDonough's The
Lieutenant of Inishmore. She also
has appeared as “The
Giant” in
FUSION's touring children's musical Seven
at a Swat.
Other productions with FUSION: “Rebecca,” The
Long Christmas Ride Home; “Girl,” Mr.
Paradise, and various roles in FUSION's
New Works Festival: The Seven.
Actors Theatre of Louisville: Aramanda, The
Second Death of Priscilla (27th
Annual Humana Festival). Other Theatre: "Willie," The
Twilight Zones;
"Lord Salisbury," King
John. Ms. Grigg teaches
drama at Albuquerque Academy's Summer Session
and is a licensed Natural Therapeutics Specialist.
Her BFA is from Cornish College of the Arts.
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Robb Sisneros
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ROBB
SISNEROS (director) A
Musical Theatre BFA from the College of Santa
Fe, this Bernalillo native returns to The
Cell having previously directed FUSION's
production of Tennessee Williams' Mister
Paradise.
Other Cell credits include FUSION's For & Against ("The
7")
and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues,
as well as
SummerWest's The Last 5 Years and I
Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.
Robb’s local directing credits also
include Swingtime
Canteen, Tommy, Tapestry, Always
- Patsy Cline, Bat Boy, The
Wiz,
Beauty & The
Beast (MTS), Secret Garden (UNM), Assassins,
Love – Valour – Compassion (Vortex),
Working (Adobe), Petra’s
Pecado, Farolitos,
Matachines (La Compania),
and A
Closer Walk With Patsy Cline (ALT).
He also directed Perla & Estrella (UNM’s
2006 Words Afire Play Festival) and Guys & Dolls at
ALT. He is currently in rehearsal directing
Little Shop of Horrors for
MTS which will open in June.
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*
member Actors Equity Association, the union
of professional actors and stage managers
in the United States
† Equity
Membership Candidate |
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