By Richard Pacheco
The current
production at 2nd Story Theatre of Paul Zindel’s “And Miss Reardon
Drinks A Little” is sheer theatrical gold, It is polished, intense and
riveting, loaded with laughs and fraught with emotional moments. The writing is
top notch, full of funny contrasted by moments of disheartening pain and power.
The acting in it is simply superb.
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, Estelle Parsons was nominated for a Tony Award for her role as
Catherine Reardon and Rae Allen won for her portrayal of Fleur Stien.
The cast
here is a wonder and a delight. This tale of three dysfunctional school
teachers is pure magic. The three sisters lost their mother about eight months
earlier and that has taken it’s toll on the women, mostly Anna, who seems to
fall to pieces over it, slipping into odd behavior from embracing strange real
cats, not even dissuade when on attacks
her and she insists, wrongly, that she has rabies.
Erin Olsen
is a wonder as the crazed sister on temporary leave from teaching for her
illness and some alleged bad conduct with a young male student, is riveting.
From her maniacal laughter and absurd antics to her moments of painful
withdrawal, she is excellent.
Then there
is the imbibing sister referred to in the title, Catherine, played by Lara
Hakeem. She has by choice scarified her life to hold this shattered family
together. It had taken its toll on her and she seethes with anger and a fierce
sense of humor that is totally relentless and merciless. She is fed up with her
now vegetarian sister Anna’s compulsions to eat zucchini and drained by trying
to find new ways to cook it
Then there
is sister Ceil, cool, aloof, accomplished who has risen to become
superintendent of schools by protecting number one without reservation of
restriction. She appears to b in control and com[pared to her sisters she is,
but she is also self absorbed and takes care of number one, namely here. She
will throw anyone under the bus to preserve her own career and station in life,
including family. Tanya Anderson delivers an outstanding performance as the
sister with a mission and ruthless determination. She is impeccable in her steely demeanor and
aloof poise.
Also on
hand is a wannabe guidance counselor, Fleur Stein. She is a real kiss up and no doubt stops by
to kiss up to the superintendent sister and does so from the moment she
arrives. She is played with humor and
flair by Susie Bowen Powers.
Her husband
Bob, played by Joseph Henderson who is less than thrilled by some of her habits
and how she likes to acquire things from school like toilet paper and paper
towels, much to his dismay and chagrin.
It is he who delivers the bomb that they do not recover from just before
he departs. He is suitably annoying and persistent as he rambles on full of
himself and very conscious of his wife’s failings which he does not hesitate to
list with gusto.
Finally
there is Marica A. Layden as Mrs. Pentrano, who lives in the building and has a
home business for cosmetics etc. and she is relentless in her pursuit of sales
and a bit of malapropist, often using the wrong word or mispronouncing it with
gusto and conviction. Layden is delightfully annoying in the role a mixture of
dense and dogged in her pursuit.
This play
zooms on with relentless and fierce humor and nothing and no one is immune to
the bite. Together this cast sizzles with energy and vehemence and liberal
doses of laughs in between the biting comments.
Mark
Peckham directs with a sure and certain touch. He keeps the pace fast and
furious and the actors interactions sparking with snippets of venom and bile in the midst of the hilarity.
Trevor
Eliot’s set design is once again excellent., evoking a cramped apartment where
two of the three sisters live.
"And
Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" runs through May 17 at 2nd Story
Theatre, 28
Market St., Warren.
Tickets are $30, and $21 for those 21 and under. Call (401) 247-4200, or visit 2ndstorytheatre.com.
