BWW Reviews: MAURITIUS is a Witty, Smartly Staged Dark Comic Delight

Having grown up in the world of numismatics (coin collecting) and philately (stamp collecting) I was probably in a rarified group in the audience by knowing just what a Mauritius was. It doesn't matter if you don't know anything though, because the playwright, Theresa Rebeck, gets the audience where it needs to be in short order.

The Mauritius 'Post Office' stamps were issued by the British Colony Mauritius in September 1847, in two denominations: an orange one pence and a blue two pence. They are called "Post Office" stamps because they were issued in error reading 'Post Office', which was soon changed in the next issue to 'Post Paid.' They are among the rarest postage stamps in the world... and worth a lot of money among collectors.

Rebeck's play is about two women who inherit a stamp collection which might be worth a fortune. Of course, who actually owns the inheritance is a major point of contention. The two half-sisters, Jackie (Melissa Vogt) and Mary (Jean Budney) have diametrically opposing views on the collection. Jackie wants to sell it and Mary, for sentimental reasons, wants to keep it. This is where the friction begins, because both of them are determined to have the outcome be in their favor. As the two women, Melissa Vogt and Jean Budney deliver dynamic performances. There's something very believable about their interactions. Vogt is both funny and heart breaking as a woman trying to get out of her situation. Budney is hilarious as Mary, a woman with the veneer of sweetness and propriety under which lurks a vicious bitch.

When Jackie decides to take the stamps to get them appraised, she runs into three men and what should have been a simple sale becomes very dangerous. These three seedy, high-stakes collectors are willing to bully, connive, cheat, and, as a last resort, conduct a legitimate business transaction in order to obtain the rare stamps.

The three men in question are Philip (Craig Kanne), owner of a stamp shop; Sterling (Barry Pineo), a collector of highly questionable mental stability and Dennis (Matthew Patterson) who works as the go-between to broker the deal. Craig Kanne delivers the kind of solid performance that is his hallmark... always believable with razor sharp comedic timing. Matthew Patterson is charming as the least defined of the three men. While his character may be involved with some rather slimy characters, he radiates a sense of being a good person, underneath it all. The standout performance of the evening is the brilliant, tour de force turn given by Barry Pineo as Sterling. Both hilariously funny and frightening as hell, Pineo mesmerizes throughout the evening.

Director Mick D'Arcy has gone a great job with this piece. He's made sure that the characters are front and center and keeps the pace tight and taut. The whole evening has a nice build and energy. I must also give lightening designer Amy Lewis kudos for managing to keep the light strobing that is the norm for a City Theatre show to the most minimum I have seen in several shows.

In all, MAURITIUS is a delightfully witty and suspenseful evening that you should put on your "to do" list.

MAURITIUS by Theresa Rebeck

Running time: Two Hours and Ten Minutes with one intermission.

MAURITIUS, produced by Different Stages at City Theatre (3823 Airport Blvd. Suite D., Austin, Tx.)
Jan. 9 - 13, 2015
Thursdays - Saturdays 8:00 p.m., Sundays 5:00 pm.
Tickets are Pick Your Price: $15, $20, $25, $30. Reservations, call 512-926-6747.

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