I haven’t been to theater and performing arts performances with any regularity for some time and have missed the experience, so I purchased tickets to several local performances taking place this spring. This week I attended the first of these, a Moxie Theatre production of Rhubarb, or How to Play With a Rollergirl running through March 9 at the Lyceum downtown.
I’ve attended performances at the Lyceum for many years but hadn’t noticed the smaller Space Theater, where Rhubarb was being staged, adjacent to the main stage. My ignorance made for some confusion as my arrival downstairs where you enter both theaters coincided with the intermission for the show running on the big stage. My first thought was that I had misread the curtain time and was incredibly late, but I was directed to take a seat in what was a surprisingly intimate performance space. The audience was very light that evening, so choosing my seat (it was general admission) and getting comfortable was easy.
The play revolves around a particular and uptight artist (Cecelia) in need of a roommate and a freespirited stick-it-to-the-man rollergirl (Karen) in need of a room. Over the course of a week, it becomes increasingly clear that they are having a strong effect on each other: Cecelia, confronted by Karen’s openness and attitude about life and her sexuality, comes to better understand and own her own, while Karen — all in-your-face brashness and independence — grows to find that there’s room in her life for love and relationships.
The play was well cast: Jeannine Marquie’s Cecelia embodied neuroses and artistic frustration and Chrissy Burns’ Karen reminded me of an old friend whose bad-ass/crusty/fuck-you exterior was mere cover for the big ole’ softie within. The oracles, who interacted with the roommates in their sleep and served as a Greek chorus elsewhere, were down-to-earth and wry.
A nice take on the “odd couple” theme, I enjoyed the play and thought it was well done. Karen’s arrival challenges Cecelia’s ordered world where she stocks backup pain relievers to the three varieties already on hand “just in case”, isn’t “currently developing a social life”, and paints vegetables out of ability rather than inspiration. Initially seeing her roommate as a possible casual tryst, Karen is surprised when she finds herself deeply attracted to and protective of Cecelia. There were a few scenes that didn’t quite work — I think it’s really difficult to write and portray drunkenness well, for instance — and the beginning of the second act felt particularly slow. Yet much of the dialogue was witty and well-crafted and it felt natural coming from the roommates. Plus, they had a poster of Kat von D hanging on the wall next to the vegetable still-lifes; that was pretty hot.
I learned about Moxie Theatre last year and was excited to find a local company that focuses on creating “more diverse and honest female images for our culture” — how could you not love that (or their name, for that matter)? Their next show, Blue Bonnet Court, is a collaboration with Diversionary Theatre that sounds promising and will definitely be added to my ticket list.
