Review: Trinity Rep's THE HEIDI CHRONICLES is Smart and Charming

THE HEIDI CHRONICLES follows the career, social activities and love life of Heidi Holland, beginning in the 1970's and finishing up in 1996. While hers is not an everywoman story, there is still something that every woman today has gone through or will face in the future, namely, the quest to 'have it all', the question of whether or not that's even possible and what it means to be a feminist. If that all sounds too heavy, don't worry. This play has a lightness of tone that belies the serious issues underneath, and really strikes the perfect note of intelligent discourse with a heavy dose of levity.

We first meet Heidi Holland, played by Angela Brazil, as an art history professor clicking through slides of paintings done by women you've probably never heard of. These mini-lectures serve as a nice frame for the storytelling, which runs pretty much chronologically from Heidi's college days to her middle age. The set is a lecture hall with a screen and blackboard in the back, and the changing years are marked by chalk art projections on the blackboard and a new pair of shoes. While it should be frustrating to chronicle an accomplished woman's life through changing footwear, it really, really works.

What also works well are the relationships and characters. Heidi has a group of friends who stick with her through the years, as well as, the on-again / off-again love interest Scoop, played by Mauro Hantman. Hantman strikes the perfect note as infuriatingly condescending yet frustratingly intriguing. The viewer doesn't like him, but is drawn to him nevertheless, just like Heidi. Hantman manages to compel and repel in equal measure and sometimes at the same time.

Rachel Christopher plays Heidi's best friend Susan Johnston, a woman of conviction and myriad hairstyles. Rachel Gibel plays a series of secondary characters, each distinct and hilarious. Even in smaller parts, Gibel is so genuinely funny that she almost steals the show from everyone else on stage. Gibel and Charlie Thurston, who plays Heidi's gay best friend Peter, are a refreshing addition to the Trinity company.

Angela Brazil serves as the touchstone for this production, and she carries that charge with grace, good humor and a likeability that makes the audience just want to be her friend and root for her. The role is a bit understated compared to the more bombastic secondary characters, but this is certainly in service of the audience empathizing and perhaps putting themselves in her shoes. It would have been easy to try to take this performance over the top, but Brazil remains subtle and endearing without letting one doubt for a second that this is her story.

Despite the excellent performances from all involved, the story does drag a bit in the second act. Since we're going chronologically through a life, that could be an intentional choice since act two takes us right into middle age where things tend to slow down whether or not we want them to, but where act one was a fun and heartfelt look at young adulthood, act two becomes more didactic and plodding. In particular, at one point Heidi is giving a speech to a group of women. She is ill-prepared, and meanders through a story that takes place in the women's locker room of her gym. Ultimately this story serves to deliver the main point of the whole play, but it takes far too long to get there, and undercuts everything that comes after it. At the heart of the play are issues that are still very relevant for women today, so it's truly a shame that those ideas get bogged down in a monologue and could have been half as long and become twice as effective.

Overall, this is an excellent production. Despite the act two hiccups, the message, humor and skillful performances still shine through. It's interesting, if a bit depressing, as a woman to watch a show like this, which is set in the 70's and 80's, and realize that we still struggle with so many of the same issues. Then again, navigating the choppy waters of adulthood is a universal experience, which is why this play continues to resonate long after its premiere.

Performances run December 3, 2015 through January 3, 2016. Tickets are on sale now and by phone at (401) 351-4242, online at www.trinityrep.com, or in person at the theater's box office at 201 Washington Street, Providence.

PHOTO: Angela Brazil as Heidi Holland. Photo Mark Turek.

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