And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little at Theatre One

And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little at Theatre One

By Richard Pacheco

            Theatre One opens its 2013-2014 season with Paul Zindel’s “And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little” a dark comedy and sparked by a sassy cast with keen comic sensibilities and a robust energy that makes it all dark, often ferocious fun with moments which are touching as well. Paul Zindel wrote this play in the late 1960s. The show was first produced in 1967 in Los Angeles, but was not published until 1971 when the Dramatists Play Service in New York picked it up. On February 2, 1971, And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little made its Broadway debut. It ran for a total of 108 performances and was directed by Melvin Bernhardt. The original Broadway Cast included Julie Harris as Anna Reardon, Estelle Parsons as Catherine Reardon, Rae Allen as Fleur Stein, Bill Macy as Bob Stein, Nancy Marchand as Ceil Adams, Paul Lieber (in his Broadway debut)as Delivery Boy and Virginia Payne as Mrs. Petrano. Estelle Parsons was nominated for a Tony Award for her role as Catherine Reardon and Rae Allen won for her portrayal of Fleur Stein.

In 1964, he wrote The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, his first and most successful play. The play ran off-Broadway in 1970, and on Broadway in 1971, and he received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work. It was also made into a 1972 movie by 20th Century Fox. This play is less well know except to theater aficionados.

This production, directed by Peg Saurman Holzemer, Theatre One’s artistic director moves along with some hilarious moments and a couple of small dead moments, but overall a sheer joy. The play explores the relationship between three very different sisters after the death of their mother in the early 1960s. Abandoned by their father in early childhood, Catherine, Ceil and Anna Reardon were raised in a small apartment by their mother. The three ladies become members of their local school community. Anna Reardon becomes a chemistry teacher, Catherine Reardon the assistant principal and Ceil (Reardon) Adams is the superintendent of schools.

The scene of the play is in the Reardon family apartment and the story begins after sisters Catherine and Anna Reardon are living following the death of their mother. Anna is suffering a severe nervous breakdown after several months of caring for her sick mother only to see her die. She has become a complete hypochondriac, obsessed with animals and rabies. She fervently believes she has had rabies, She is also on an extended break from school for allegedly molesting a male student. Catherine's reaction to both her mother's death and her sister's ailment has been to drink "a little". She is consistently drinking a variety of alcohol throughout the show. Ceil was absent from her family while her mother was suffering. Instead she ran off to marry her sister Catherine's boyfriend, Edward Adams.

Ceil has come to the Reardon home to coax Catherine into having Anna committed. Neither Anna nor Catherine is interested in anything their Ceil has to say.  In the midst of her craziness, Anna has become a militant vegetarian. They eat a vegetarian dinner and halfway through dinner, Fleur Stein invades the family conversation. Fleur works in guidance at Anna and Catherine's school, and brown nose Mrs. Adams in attempt to gain a better salary by getting her certificate to be a guidance counselor. She is very colorful and somewhat obnoxious, which her husband, Bob makes perfectly clear once he arrives. In fact Bob is very blunt and speaks his mind.

After a humorous, but often bitter evening, Ceil demands that Anna be locked up. Catherine refuses this demand, and Ceil essentially abandons the two women to take care of each other.

Kathy Bourne is delightful as Catherine, the sister who “drinks a little.” She is poised and energetic with a solid sense of comic timing and she delivers her lines with an offhand ease that makes it often hilarious. The way she whirls around with pithy remarks and martini glass firmly in hand are hilarious.

Director Peg Saurman Holzemer shows up as the kind of Avon lady, Mrs. Petrano, selling health and beauty products. She has a penchant for mispronouncing words and generally making a mess of the English language. This brief role ends up very funny as she wriggles in between her passionate desire to sell products while killing the language with tons of mispronunciations.

Susan Wing Markson is the very proper, well starched superintendent, Ceil, who is trying to take charge and run her sisters like she runs the schools she oversees. Markson is right on target as the somewhat haughty, a bit distant and overly confident Ceil. Markson is refined and astute in the role, keeping an air of distance between herself and her sisters. They might be the same blood, but not of the same mindset.

Sheila Kelleher is Anna, the somewhat crazed, vegetarian sister with the nervous breakdown and some scandalous behavior with a young boy. Kelleher delivers a fine performance, deftly balancing the more manic moments with a sometimes nearly catatonic glazed stare that is compelling.

Linda Merritt is Fleur, the wannabe guidance counselor who is more than a little bit eccentric and annoying to the endth degree.  Merritt delivers a very funny performance, managing to be truly funny while being obnoxious. One of the funniest scenes in the play is when she is seated at the table with Anna discussing why Anna doesn’t wear a crucifix anymore.

Rounding out the cast is the only male, Bruce Kaiser as Fleur’s husband, the down to earth tell it like I see it all, Bob Stein. Kaiser has a keen sense of comic timing that is sheer fun to watch. When he gets flustered with his wife and tells all  it is truly funny. Kaiser is energetic and determined as Bob, and he can’t wait to leave this asylum behind him no matter how much he wife wants to score points with the superintendent.

The set by Kevin Weston is excellent and deftly overcomes the space restrictions of the stage which is far wider than it is deep.  He makes shrewd use of space and is also the technical director as well.

“And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little” is a darkly funny play with a strong cast and good direction. And, yes, there are some touching moments there as well as wild and madcap antics. There are a couple of rough spots but it is mostly a wonderful comic treat.

It continues at Alley Theatre 133 Center Street Middleboro. Nov 8, 9, 15, 16 at 7:30pm Sunday Nov 17 at 2pm.  Tickets at the Door “Cash Only” Students & Seniors $15 Gen $18 Food Donations for the COA Senior Food Pantry accepted at all Performances. Info 1-617-840-1490