Review: THE HEIDI CHRONICLES at New Jewish Theatre

Nearly 40-years after it was written, Wendy Wasserstein’s play The Heidi Chronicles carries a heightened level of poignance. The Pulitzer Prize and Tony winning play follows the chronological journey of a young female protagonist from late high school through her early 40s. It is an examination of a life lived by a woman who refused to sacrifice her dreams of having a career while still wanting a meaningful romantic relationship and a family.  

In retrospect, Wasserstein’s life story and the parallels to Heidi’s journey now hit differently. The Heidi Chronicles is a feminine anthem of independence, but Wasserstein’s protagonist never seems fully satisfied with her life.  

While not strictly autobiographical, Heidi’s life begs the question about living without regret. Looking at this story through today’s lens Wasserstein’s narrative seems applicable to all without regard to gender. Maturation forces prioritization of life choices and hopefully emotional intelligence becomes the guide for living without feelings of remorse. 

The New Jewish Theatre production of The Heidi Chronicles is an entertaining revival of Wasserstein’s seminal work thanks to Ellie Schwetye’s storytelling expertise. Schwetye’s direction and sound design builds the narrative through the chronological timeline she creates. She, and projection designer Kareem Deanes, walk the audience through two-and-a-half decades using projections of memorable newsworthy events and music from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. It is pure nostalgia for Baby Boomers and some older Gen Xers.  

Schwetye’s engaging storytelling goes well beyond her creativity at establishing the decades. She has cast a phenomenal group of actors who disappear into their characters, led by St. Louis acting powerhouses Emily Baker, Will Bonfiglio, Kelly Howe, and Joel Moses. She has collaborated with her design team to build an intimate and functional storytelling palette. Patrick Huber’s versatile set piece affords quick scene changes, while Michelle Friedman Siler’s costume designs invoke the quirky styles of the decades. 

Schwetye tapped the exceptionally talented Emily Baker to take the audience on the journey as Heidi. Baker’s Heidi is driven, uncompromising, and likeable. She connects with the audience as an awkward teenager who is trying to navigate the dating world. Heidi is shepherded by her more adventurous friend Susan, played by Kelly Howe. Susan and Heidi maintain a lifelong friendship, even as their personalities becoming more dissimilar over time.  

Howe’s Susan is a bit more daring than Heidi. She becomes more eccentric as she moves into middle age pursuing her career. Susan choses a single life and chases her professional aspirations. In Howe’s hands, Susan is a frivolous, flirtatious, and a bit flighty. Howe is a force. Her acting choices are fantastical, and she makes Susan offbeat and unforgettable. 

Heidi’s love interest, Scoop Rosenbaum (Joel Moses), is a shallow womanizing cad with scads of charisma and sex appeal. Actor Joel Moses charms his way into Heidi’s life with seductive intellectual banter. Moses makes Scoop irresistible. His and Baker’s connection is intensely seismic, and Heidi’s attraction is uncontrollable. She is smitten with Scoop, the serial philanderer.  

Heidi allows herself to be a bit narcissistic and self-consumed. It’s her closest male friend, pediatrician Peter Patrone, who keeps her grounded with doses of tough love. Patrone, played with endearing charm by Will Bonfiglio, gives Heidi much needed perspective about her unhealthy relationship with Scoop. Peter is touched personally by the AIDS crisis in the late 80’s and Bonfiglio’s emotion wracked portrayal picks scabs that took decades to heal.  

Paola Angeli, Ashwini Arora, Courtney Bailey, and Joshua Mayfield vanish into more than a dozen roles to help tell Heidi’s story. Each give chameleon like performances, but Bailey and Arora are standouts as Scoop’s living in denial wife, the militant lesbian Fran, and the airhead TV host April.  

New Jewish Theatre has staged an excellent production of Wasserstein’s entertaining play. The Heidi Chronicles was penned as a feminist manifesto asserting that one can have it all. But time, and Wasserstein’s all-too-short life, raises questions about prioritizing life goals. It is possible to live an emotionally fulfilled life even if it requires compromising wants. Few of us ever get to have it all.