On
one hand, this play by William Inge (who also wrote Bus Stop and Picnic) feels like a melodramatic relic from the 1950s.
But
there’s another hand, wielded by director Paul Moser, and that hand paints a
compelling portrait of a loving and deeply flawed relationship that was common
in the ‘50s, and not all that unusual to find these days.
Lola
and Doc have been married a long time, and they’ve each given up a lot so their marriage can stay intact. Doc gave up a career as a full-fledged doctor
(he’s now a chiropractor) due to Lola’s pregnancy. The child later died,
leaving Lola unable to have any more children, and that has haunted the pair ever since.
Doc
sought comfort in the bottle but now, as the play opens, he’s been sober for a
year. But there are torrents of passion and need surging under the apparently
calm surface, as Lola chats up every young man who enters the house, including
the milkman and the postman, trying out her coquettish charms that are long
past their expiration date.
Meanwhile,
Doc is busy idealizing their young boarder Marie, until she proves herself
soiled goods when he finds evidence that she’s been shacking up with her
college boy pal Turk. This sends him back to the bottle, setting up an Act Two
meltdown that is terrifying to behold.
As
Doc, Matthew Wright is nicely compartmentalized early on, hewing to routine and
being overly solicitous to his wife and Marie. But when the dam breaks,
Wright’s Doc explodes with a wrath that is raw and dark.
Karen
Nelson Moser is effortlessly natural as Lola. And although she doesn’t explore
a broad range of emotions, her fiercely controlled reactions tell their own
kind of tragic story.
They
are supported by a strong cast, particularly Annie Winneg as the opportunistically
carnal Marie and Colin Wulff as the buff Turk.
This
show is one of three during the OSTF rep season, which also features As You Like It and The Secret Garden. All performances are free, but reservations are
suggested.
Come
Back, Little Sheba
Through
August 2, produced by the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival, at Hall Auditorium, 67
N. Main St., Oberlin, 440-775-8169.
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