"Mrs. Warren's Profession" at Rep Stage

SHOW INFORMATION:  Mrs. Warren's Profession runs through February 24 at RepStage's Howard Community College theatre; Weds – Thurs 7:30PM, Fri – Sat 8PM, Sat – Sun at 2:30PM.  Tickets are $17 - $25/General, $12 Students, all performances.  www.repstage.org or 410-772-4900. 

◊◊◊ out of five.  2 hours, 30 minutes, including intermission.  Adult themes. 

When George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession tried to open in the late 1800's, British censors would not allow it, and a few years later, the New York cast was sent to jail for public lewdness.  Why?  Because its title character is a happy, well-off brothel owner and former prostitute.  Sure, prostitutes figured into all kinds of Victorian culture, but never before had they been portrayed as anything other than sickly, repentant scourges of society, a clear example of what trouble women can get into.  By today's standards, this controversy sounds downright quaint.  But Shaw is a wordsmith and master social commentator, so his play is really about so much more – ethics, the place of women in society, morality, etc. "Words, words, words," says the heroine of another Shavian play.  And boy, do you get tons of them in this one!  (My first clue that this would be an exercise in wit and word play was the five and a half page packet of script annotations included in the press kit.)  In a well done production, the acting and direction should make the words easily comprehended and any allusions to persons or ideas long gone still understood.  Thankfully, the production which opened this past weekend at Rep Stage is easy to follow; less thankfully, the production suffers from uneven direction and an overall pall of boredom. 

The play centers on a very modern woman, Vivie Warren: loner, mathematician, bursting with righteous indignation.  Everything in her world is in order, all lined up neatly.  She has a potential fiancé, (but frankly, he isn't necessary should she change her mind) a respect usually accorded men, and a hefty income thanks to a monthly allowance sent by her mother.  Her mother, always on the go – a world traveler – has been an unseen presence throughout Vivie's life, as she was shuttled from school to school, etc.  Only a few days at a time do they see each other.  Only the visit she's going to have this time should turn her world upside down, when she finds out the truth about her mother and her money.  Both women are strong-willed and opinionated, neither willing to budge.  Barbs are flung and confrontations abound as Vivie's paternity is brought into question. 

From the sounds of it, you'd think sparks would fly off the stage, right?  Not so.  Under Gus Kaikkonen's direction, the entire production feels like one static note, with only one blip on an otherwise flat line.  Part of it is not his fault – the characters never really change; in the end everyone is pretty much where they were at the beginning, except that now everyone is on the same page.  But it certainly doesn't help that Mr. Kaikkonen can't seem to figure out what kind of play he wants this to be – a comedy or a salacious drama, and worse yet, he can't seem to get most of the cast to relax enough to put any oomph into their performances.  On the whole the cast seems afraid that they'll lose their grip on their clipped British accents, or perhaps they fear being carted off by the morality police.  About half way through act one, it doesn't matter, to the audience at least, who by then is lulled into an opened-eyed coma.  Yes, there are humorous moments in the script; Shaw was a master wit.  But the director has included, unsuccessfully, a few attempts at broader physical comedy, including a very uncomfortable bit at the top of act one involving opening a folding chair, not once, but twice.  Both actors with the chairs look befuddled – not because they are milking this unfunny gag – but because they both know it doesn't work; you can see it on their faces.  Then there is the decidedly unfunny and sexist running gag that when Vivie shakes hands, her grip is so firm it hurts.  Maybe it's because as portrayed she is more man than any of the male characters.  Still it is not funny. 

On the plus side, Kaikkonen has surrounded himself with a terrific technical team, which maintains Rep Stage's high standard of production values.  Daniel Ettinger has created a set which revolves and each side doubles for different locales in each act.  Particularly successful are the exterior sides of the set, rich with color, texture, and simple lines.  Daniel Covey's lighting conveys a comfortable outdoorsy feel, and in the interior sets, the austerity matches the action and mood.  Kathleen Geldard's rich, detailed costumes say as much about the characters wearing them as the dialogue does. 

Less successful is his casting, including three new comers to Rep Stage and three regulars.  Of the three regulars, Michael Stebbins is the least successful, as he looks physically uncomfortable throughout the play.  As the artsy Praed, you'd think Mr. Stebbins would be allowed a certain amount of flamboyance or even some miniscule amounts of flare.  Oh, he's charming with his words, but he is stiff as a board, most noticeably around the arms, which, wooden soldier-like are plastered to his sides throughout.  Having seen this talented actor in several other productions, I'll have to assume it is the direction here, because he has never given so stiff a performance to date.  Faring better is Bill Largess as the Rev. Samuel Gardner, who manages to make his character likeable because of his nervousness and humanity over any piety his occupation might have.  He also gets a few of the evening's genuine laughs, playing the hungover henpecked husband/harried father with finesse.  Finally, Nigel Reed as the haughty, arrogant Sir George Crofts is the best of the three.  His pomposity offers a few snickers, and his character gets the best scene – he reveals who Vivie's father is and then is chased off the grounds at gun point.  Even though all of the actors are playing types to a certain extent, Mr. Reed seems to have found the most wiggle room to give his character a little oomph.  

The three debuting actors also represent the leading roles in the play.  Matt Jared, a good looking, confident young man, plays Frank Gardner, Vivie's boyfriend, with an ease and naturalness that seems incongruent with the affectations of the rest of the company.  But he also manages to make it fit with whomever he shares the stage.  He is humorous and gallant, but never pretentiously so.  In short, Mr. Jared is the only person on stage who never seems to be "acting" any of his role.  Somewhat more "actorish," but still interesting is Lisa Bostnar as the titular Mrs. Warren, whose charisma and charm, and considerable femininity make it easy to see why her character is so successful at her chosen profession.  Still, Ms. Bostnar might benefit for reining in her excessive soap opera style histrionics ("I shall weep!" said as hanky comes flying out and she flounces down in her chair, head bent, shoulders rising and falling.)  And one hopes that as she settles into the role that the occasional Shavian use of cockney in her character (used to betray her real station) might flow more easily in her speech patterns, making the lapse seem more indelible than shoe-horned in.  Finally, and most regrettably, Natasha Staley's Vivie, who carries most of the play, is, to be succinct, a boor and boring.  I have to admit, commitment to a role as sturdy as Ms. Staley's unwavering take is commendable on some level.  But everything about her characterization is rigid and unchanging.  Vivie in act one is basically the same Vivie at the final curtain.  That's not to say nothing happens to change Vivie, that is to say that there are no cracks in the veneer to let us see that she has changed in any significant way.  She comes on way too strong from the start, her back and neck ramrod stiff, her arms barely moving and her hands folded or fingers tightly squeezed together.  Her speech is picture perfect, accent firmly in place, but so clipped that she comes off like Eliza Doolittle after she finally gets all of the lessons she's been taught.  Ms. Staley seems as though she is holding onto that accent for dear life.  And save for a rare moment or two when she laughs with her boyfriend, this Vivie is devoid of femininity – a long skirt and hair in a tight bun are pretty much the only clues to her female side.  I understand that she is a "modern woman" doing everything a man can do, blah blah blah, but she is mannish to an uncomfortable extreme, matched only by an overwrought righteous indignation which after an hour or so becomes tedious.  She is not likable enough to root for and not bitchy enough to hate. 

Mrs. Warren's Profession is a technical delight, and some of the acting is quite good.  But it sure is a long two and a half hours when no one really changes, and the biggest plot twist concerns who's the daddy to a full grown and totally self-sufficient woman.  Perhaps more time spent on the more interesting controversies of the play would have balanced the stagy plot devices and less successful acting.

 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of RepStage, by Stan Barouh.  TOP to BOTTOM: Nigel Reed and Lisa Bostnar as Sir George Crofts and Mrs. Warren; Matt Jared and Bill Largess as Frank Garner and Rev. Samuel Garner; Lisa Bostnar and Natasha Staley as Mrs. Warren and Vivie.