Miss Witherspoon: Labor Pains on the Astral Plane

"Miss Witherspoon"

Written by Christopher Durang; directed by Scott Edmiston; set design by Janie E. Howland; costume design by Gail Astrid Buckley; lighting design by Karen Perlow; sound design by Dewey Delay

Cast:

Veronica, Paula Plum
Maryamma, Mala Bhattacharya
Mother 1 and Mother 2, Marianna Bassham
Father 1, Father 2, Sleazy Man, Dog Owner, Wise Man, Larry Coen
Teacher, Woman in a Hat, Jacqui Parker

The Lyric Stage of Boston pays great tribute to the wild and wacky afterlife that Christopher Durang creates in his irreverent yet oddly spiritual comedy, "Miss Witherspoon." Balancing biting black humor with surprisingly heartfelt humanitarianism, director Scott Edmiston and his fine ensemble of colorful characters skillfully dish out a message of hope and peace amidst a swirl of lunatic tragicomic events.

The reluctant - and bi-polar - heroine of the piece, Veronica, dubbed Miss Witherspoon after the nursery rhyme phrase "wither the spoon," has committed suicide during a particularly dark depressive swing. Hoping to achieve peace in the afterlife, despite the fact that she isn't even sure one exists, she finds instead a wacky assortment of spiritual guides who keep thrusting her back, reincarnated, into the "real" world of Earth below. She is destined, it seems, to relive one painful experience after another until she finally learns the lessons necessary to reach true spiritual Nirvana.

Among her "teachers" are the angelic Eastern mystic Maryamma, Middle Earth's magical wizard Gandolf, and a decidedly hip and outrageous Jesus Christ. The successive families into which she is newly born include a Connecticut couple whose pet dog could easily have doubled for Cujo, a pair of tattooed drug addicts who give the words "poor white trash" new meaning, and a happy suburban family with whom she is now the playful puppy dog. With each incarnation Miss Witherspoon finds that no action occurs in a vacuum. Her cosmic karma creates a ripple effect that either hurts or heals people and ultimately alters history.

Durang's message that one person can make a difference is cleverly layered in manic machinations that are expertly navigated by Edmiston's terrific cast. Paula Plum as the title character is a whirlwind of comedic resistance, kicking and screaming hilariously against the inevitable forces of the universe to which she must succumb. Her malleable face screws itself into preposterous expressions, and when she becomes various babies in the bassinette her looks of indignation, frustration, and mental maneuvering are sheer genius. Plum, who never leaves the stage during the play's 90 uninterrupted minutes, sets the pace and tone for "Miss Witherspoon." She never lets down and never misses a beat. She is at one with her character, and the result is sheer delight.

The rest of the cast does yeoman's work, as well, playing multiple characters that sometimes change within seconds. Mala Bhattacharya as Maryamma exudes a deliberate meditative serenity which is slowly frayed to a comic breaking point by Miss Witherspoon's stubborn refusal to play by the afterlife's rules. Marianna Bassham rises  to the thankless task of playing the villain of the piece, the abusive drug-addicted mother whose actions set the reincarnated Veronica on a course of self-destruction. Later she gets to redeem herself, however, as the more nurturing mom from the suburbs.

Larry Coen transforms himself like a shape shifter, taking on the yin and the yang of the good father/bad father, the philosophical drug pusher, the wizened and wise Gandolf, and even a deer-in-the-headlights version of Chicken Little. Jacqui Parker goes from soulful social worker to soul-singing evangelist, strutting effortless dance moves that would make Michael Jackson jealous.

Adding to the madcap hurly burly is a fanciful set that includes Cabbage Patch dolls hanging from the ceiling, wig heads lining upstage shelves, and a window in what may be heaven's floor looking down upon the Earth spinning off its axis. Special sound and lighting effects, along with some nifty body contortions by Paula Plum, create the sense of Miss Witherspoon being sucked into the vortex of reincarnation. A dose of very imaginative but spot on incidental music also garners several big laughs.

"Miss Witherspoon" was a recent Pulitzer Prize contender, and justifiably so. It brilliantly uses absurd comedy to expose what's wrong with the world - and what can possibly help to make it right. In Durang's view, paradise may still be somewhere in an afterlife far, far away. With this Lyric Stage production, however, we somehow feel as though we've been brought one step closer to it.

PHOTOS:

1. Paula Plum as Miss Witherspoon
2. Marianna Bassham, Paula Plum and Larry Coen

Next Up: "Arms and the Man," May 4 - June 2, Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon St., Boston
Box Office: 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com

 

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