Review: Fierstein's CASA VALENTINA West Coast Premieres at Pasadena Playhouse

Casa Valentina/by Harvey Fierstein/directed by David Lee/Pasadena Playhouse/through April 10

Harvey Fierstein's Casa Valentina won a deserved four Tony nominations in 2014 when it played on Broadway. This is a fine example of an unusual play, one of surprising depth, that goes out of its way to hit a nerve or two. Although comical, Casa Valentina is a drama at the core, with some shades of kitchen-sink reality. Currently onstage in its West Coast premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse, Fierstein's latest opus takes a long look at yet another minority, with fortitude and alacrity. Directed with finesse by David Lee, the cast are nothing short of luminous.

Casa Valentina is set in a hotel in the Catskills, circa 1962, where a sorority club of straight men, who dress up in women's clothing, are split down the middle when forced to react to homosexuality. Some of them like Terry (Lawrence Pressman) condone homosexuals as another group of men with differences, like themselves; some like leader Charlotte (Christian Clemenson) are intolerant and want no association with them. George, his female counterpart Valentina (Robert Mammana) has a somewhat 'normal' marriage with Rita (Valerie Mahaffey). They own the cabin-like hotel and sponsor the sorority. When someone sends George a batch of pornographic pictures through the mail, he is investigated. It was a mistake; he does not wish to be branded a homosexual. Charlotte knows that George was wrongly accused and that the photos were meant for the Judge in their group, whose female name is Amy (John Vickery). There is increased tension, as Charlotte wants them all to sign a contract to make their group a legal organization...and in the contract there is a clause that must be signed separately....affirming that they are not homosexuals and do not tolerate homosexual behavior from anyone. When George wants to sign and keep Valentina alive, it means disowning his friend Amy and, simultaneously, pushing his wife Rita away. Rita cannot accept Valentina, if George lets his integrity slide.

There is stark reality at play's end, as Rita and George are seen separated, at least momentarily: he in the bedroom, adjusting his makeup as Valentina in front of the mirror, she at the kitchen table crying over the loss of her husband George. What happens when a man's personality is split in two? The female side can bring comfort to the male side, so what's the point in keeping a wife? When the facts are thoroughly analyzed, what purpose does she serve? Fierstein digs deep, not only into the conflict of cross-dressing and homosexuality, but also into the dresser's duality and how one side affects/controls the other.

Of course, there are moments of great humor in the play, as when Jonathan (James Snyder) joins the festivities of the weekend for the very first time, and his emergence as his female counterpart Miranda - his makeup, his wig, his dress - all show his inexperience and are less than attractive. The girls all try to do a makeover on him to great results. There's much comaraderie among them, but when faced with the larger, aforementioned issues, the group falls apart.

Under director Lee's steady hand, the acting is superior from top to bottom. It's a true ensemble piece and everyone shines. Standouts are Snyder as the nervous Jonathan/Miranda in his first time out; Mammana bewildered but resolute in his choices as George/Valentina; Raymond McAnally as overweight Albert/Bessie who is good for lots of hearty laughs; Vickery as poor confused victim Amy; and wonderfully resourceful and reliable actress Mahaffey as Rita, the sole female in the cast who more than holds her own in the plain, frumpy garb she must wear among the males who are dressed far more prettily by costumer Kate Bergh. Praise as well to Clemenson as the butch and bitchy Charlotte, to Pressman as the passive but homosexual defender Theodore/Terry, to Mark Jude Sullivan as Michael/Gloria, and to Nike Doukas, as the Judge's intolerant daughter Eleanor. Kudos also to Tom Buderwitz and his excellently designed revolving set of the small hotel and its isolated surroundings.

Go see Casa Valentina! It has a steady, unpredictable pulse that keeps moving and shaking throughout. One thing's for sure, you may have definite opinions about transvestites, but you sure will grow to love these women...I mean, men...?

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