How
many times have each of us wondered what would have happened at that diner
party if things had gone differently? And how many times have playwrights and
screenwriters attempted to capture that conundrum of human existence? The
answer to both questions is: Countless.
In Life x 3 by Yasmina Reza (translated by
Christopher Hampton), Sonia and Henry are hosting an older couple, Hubert and
Inez, for dinner. Unfortunately, the guests have arrived a day early and
there’s hardly any food in the house. And they can’t go out to dinner since the
hosts’ six-year old son Arnaud is crying for attention in the next room.
Taking
this premise, Reza then plays the evening’s conversation through three
different times with three different outcomes. And during these versions we
learn of many interpersonal conflicts: Research scientist Henry is desperate
for approval from his superior Hubert, Hubert is hot for and has a history with
Sonia, Inez is always doing a slow boil when her husband puts her down, and
little Arnaud (an unseen Mary Alice Beck) keeps whining for snacks and cuddles.
It
is an admittedly intriguing concept, and a talented cast under the direction of
Greg Cesear does its best to make this triple layer cake turn out well. They
accomplish that task splendidly in the first iteration of the “dinner” party,
when the dynamics of the situation are fresh and surprising and Reza’s sharp
wit is in evidence. But as the second and third replays continue, the air
slowly seeps out of this balloon until, by the end, the premise feels rather
deflated.
It’s
a challenging task to take an audience through three versions of the same
conversation with subtle changes that slightly tweak reactions. As a result,
you spend more time trying to suss out what’s different this time than you do
becoming engrossed in the character dynamics.
Still,
Cesear is an accomplished and inventive director and he teases interesting
performances out of his cast. Tricia Bestic is sharp and no-nonsense as Sonia,
taking charge of her home as well as her (sometimes) vacillating husband played
with bursts of self-flagellation by Brian Bowers. Dana Hart is solid as the
pompous Hubert, and his nasty zingers directed at his wife are played off with
humorous diffidence by Julia Kolibab as Inez.
There
are aspirations to the metaphysical in Reza’s script, but the repeated
renditions don’t provide the necessary snap of realization that is required to
bring the audience along. Instead, by the end, it feels as if we’ve been
stumbling through several rough drafts of a piece that isn’t quite finished.
Life
x 3
Through
Oct. 28 at Cesear’s Forum, Playhouse Square, Kennedy’s Down Under, 1501 Euclid Ave.,
216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org
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