Review: THE MANOR at MAP Theatre

Dear Readers, I’ve long been a fan of one of the smaller yet mightier theater companies in town, MAP Theatre.  They’ve consistently brought in those quirkier shows with solid performances and direction.  And while I still have respect for them for what they do, you can’t hit each one out of the park.  Their current offering, “The Manor” playing at Seattle Open Arts Space (or SOAP, formerly known as 18th and Union), has a few of those delightfully quirky moments I expect, but largely the show felt disjointed and lacked a point.

In the play from local playwright Kelleen Conway Blanchard, we are visiting The Manor, a creepy old mansion dating back to the 1880’s where creepy things abound.  Creatures skitter through the walls, disembodied voices everywhere, and it’s really damp.  We look in on The Manor in 6 different time periods, from 1887 through to 2095, as the estate is passed down from descendant to descendant, each resulting in a grizzly murder.  And all, somewhat, through the lens of Private Investigator and cookbook author Recleva Dunne (Sarah Rose Nottingham).  Her fascination with the house seems to have no bounds, even beyond her life as her works intrigue others. 

It could be an interesting piece.  Typically shows with definite vignettes can work quite well as, even if you don’t take a shine to one of them, it’ll be over soon and you’ll be off to something new.  Unfortunately, for me at least, the remotely interesting ones were at the top of the show.  One with a husband (Dylan Smith) injured while hunting, only to return to a wife (Meg Carleton) who’s gone a bit stir crazy from her isolation.  And the second with a wheelchair ridden recluse (Brandon Ryan) speaking to an inspector (Lucien Oberleitner) about his repeated death threats.  Beyond those, the remaining stories kept getting less about focused storylines and more about screaming and chaos which only works for about five minutes until it’s boring.  In addition, the repeated use of the P.I. or others narrating what has been happening in the form of letters or book entries got old really quick.  Don’t tell me, show me. 

The direction from Oberleitner feels rocky from the start.  The pace is off, the intentions are unclear, and the staging lacked variety.  Considering Oberleitner is in the show, in most of the scenes, they could have used more time watching what was going on than being a part of it. 

The cast does what they can with it but there’s not much to work with.  Ryan, as always, nails every role and fills them with layered hilarity.  Smith also does well, especially with the opening scene and his fairly ridiculous hunter on a mission.  Carleton too shines in that piece as a wife being driven mad.  Nottingham does OK with her roles but especially with the P.I., isn’t given much to play with other than exposition.  And Oberleitner does well with the mysterious inspector but then feels out of place in other scenes.  Which was an issue with the whole show and its vignette style, that many felt like they were all in their own mini shows and not engaging with each other. 

In the vein of “you can’t win them all” this one from MAP Theatre just didn’t work for me.  I should note that I was watching their livestream option and not live in the theater.  And the video would cut out occassionally but I could always hear the show and even with that I could tell it didn't work.  And so, with my three-letter rating system I give MAP Theatre’s “The Manor” a “not really that funny or scary” MEH-.  Sadly, I expect better from them.

Seattle Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT (Spokane Valley Summer Theatre)

8.1% of votes

2. REEFER MADNESS (The Spartan Theatre)

7.9% of votes

3. THE COLOR PURPLE (Village Theatre)

6.7% of votes

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