WELL
Subject: Quicktake - "Well" by Lisa Kron
Date: Thurs, March 15, 12:03 AM
Quicktake on WELL
The distinction between true allergic reaction and psychosomatic response is as hard to pin down as the real nature of Lisa Kron's Obie-winning Tony-nominated quasi-autobiographical “theatrical exploration,” Currently being recreated at the Huntington, at first “Well” seems to be a one woman show starring Kron with five extra characters, chief of which is her mother played by theatre veteran Mary Pat Gleason. The other four play multiple roles as the author attempts to define wellness. In the course of two intermissionless hours however this purpose becomes muddied and the show becomes personalized and ultimately inconclusive, more a commentary on itself.
The process of creating a solo piece from elements of one’s own life is certainly relevant to today’s theatre, but is not in itself necessarily interesting, at least not for two hours. The show has a pastiche quality, attempting to correlate race relations in 1960s Lansing Michigan to the minutia of a residential allergy clinic in Chicago, combined with memories of growing up with a mother whose life was limited by illness. The author challenges her own veracity in the process which leaves additional questions unanswered.
All of which is sporadically amusing; Kron’s standup timing is impressive, regularly garnering laughs at her own expense. Tony Walton’s set, done for Broadway looms over the action but seems more decorative than appropriate. The conceit that all this is somehow an exploration with no clear course, except on some notecards in the author’s pocket, seems hollow and unfortunately true, the sporadic effort of a skilled performance artist to deal personal concerns working from contradictory premises. The results are maudlin at best, and probably much more compelling in Off-Broadway confines than displayed on the Huntington’s vintage proscenium.
"Well" by Lisa Kron, mar. 9 - Apr.8
presented by Huntington Theatre Co. at BU Theatre
264 Huntington Ave., (617) 266 - 0800
HTC
posted by will at 12:03 AM
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