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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews Vanities By Jack Heifner Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents copyright © 2009, Keith Waits, all rights reserved. Vanities is a modest play that follows the friendship of three Texas women over the course of a decade, first as cheerleaders, then sorority sisters, and, finally, as adults struggling to forge new identities. Tidy and compactly structured in three tightly written scenes, the script is economical and observant, providing sharply written, intelligent dialogue that delivers large amounts of humor and just the right amount of human insight. Act one, set in November 1963, introduces Joanne (Laura Ellis), Kathy (Katie Graviss) and Mary (Tiffany Smith), teenage girls in their junior year of high school and all dressed in their cheerleader uniforms. The play mines easy laughs from the emphasis on superficialities that define their adolescent existence and prompts a ready identification from the audience. This scene seems to speed by with comic momentum before a closing moment that nicely juxtaposes the gravity of current events with the shallow self-obsession of the characters. If the second act, which takes place five years later, seems to have less energy, it is because the playwright allows the characters' easy comraderie to begin to fracture, as we see the girls begin to grow apart ever so slightly. By the time we have entered the final scene, in 1974, it is becoming clear that once the women exited the cozy world of school, with its carefully calibrated social structure of cheerleading squads and sororities, they would inevitably drift apart and lead isolated lives. The observations the playwright seeks to highlight are no less resonant for being obvious, and both the script and this production stop short of tawdry melodrama, instead allowing the audience to find the truth through the familiarity of the material. Director Gary Tipton's smooth and professional staging displays care and attention in crafting performance, as each actress slips comfortably into her role. As Joanne, Laura Ellis’s fierce comic energy is the engine that sets the pace, and she renders a nicely judged drunk scene in the final moments—always a pitfall for more careless actors. Katie Graviss as Kathy provides the perfect physical presence for a girl who always finds herself the leader while struggling with profound doubt about her identity. Tiffany Smith gave the strongest performance as Mary, discovering each and every delicious, sardonic note as she charted the furthest path from expectation and the stultifying mainstream life that they all believed they were seeking. The play's three scenes are presented without a formal intermission, although there are brief interludes with appropriate period music while the cast change costumes and settings. Vanities is one of those choice little pieces of theatre that deliver surefire entertainment while including just enough spice and introspection to avoid being bland.
Vanities
502-445-3203
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