Was Your House Clean for Thanksgiving?

A few words from the fabulous Linette Hwu, Club Woolly Member and Board Member extraordinaire:

Hi everyone. I hope you all enjoyed a happy and stomach-filling Thanksgiving. I'm sorry I missed you all at the last Club Woolly Night; I was on my way to NYC for something of a Woolly field trip on Saturday, November 18th. A group of 16 of us, including Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz, Managing Director Kevin Moore and, treat of all treats, Guenia Lemos, gathered at Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater that afternoon to see the Lincoln Center production of The Clean House, by MacArthur genius Sarah Ruhl, also the playwright of our last production of this season, Dead Man's Cell Phone.

As you probably know, Woolly's second production in its new space was The Clean House, in July 2005, a huge success in every imaginable way (including two Helen Hayes awards! -- Outstanding Resident Play and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Resident Play (for Franca Barchiesi)), in which Guenia delivered what The Washington Post called "a beguiling central performance" as Matilde, the Brazilian maid who would rather work on coming up with the perfect joke than clean the house of her employer, a successful doctor named Lane (Woolly company member Naomi Jacobson in our production). It turns out that Lane's sister Virginia (Woolly company member Sarah Marshall, now playing Martha in Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis) *does* like to clean, and well... I won't reveal the plot in case anyone has yet to see this fantastic play.

So it goes without saying that it was truly special to see the Lincoln Center production with Guenia. And it was so interesting to see how another director, cast, set designer, etc. took on this play that I loved so much at Woolly! Outside of Shakespeare, I've not had many opportunities to see different productions of the same play, but I think it might become a new hobby. Anyway, I'd have to say that I much preferred our production, and that seemed to be the consensus in our group. Yeah, yeah, we're biased, but for me -- I'll let others who were in the group comment in response -- the fact that the stage is on the same level as the first row of seats and the rest of the seats go up from there really changed the experience. I didn't like looking down on the action, and I didn't like that the balcony scene in the second act is basically at eye level. Plus, the stage is a circle, with the seats around it in kind of a horseshoe, which means that there's always someone in the audience who can't see the facial expressions of one of the actors on stage.

Also, for me the play is very much a play about two sisters. Lane and Virginia have their differences and are competitive with each other, but at bottom there's a bond between them that will survive through thick and thin. I think because I am one of two sisters I could really understand the relationship between Lane and Virginia that Sarah Ruhl captures; it and they felt completely believable to me. And so it was quite a disappointment not to feel that same energy and emotion between the Lane and Virginia of the Lincoln Center production (played by Blair Brown and Jill Clayburgh, respectively).

In fact, I'd say that was the major flaw of the Lincoln Center production overall -- a comparative lack of energy and emotion. I wouldn't say I'm a particularly sophisticated theatergoer; instead, I'm happy with my night out if I feel really drawn into what's happening on stage. I did not feel engaged and invested in the Lincoln Center production at all, so I was quite surprised to find myself shedding tears at the end of the play! I think that speaks to the strength of the play and Sarah Ruhl's writing.

So I would still recommend this production. Especially for anyone who didn't see our Clean House, it is a good use of a couple of hours, and I personally don't think I'll pass up any chances to see Sarah Ruhl's work. If you go see it, let us know what you think! And get psyched for Dead Man's Cell Phone -- I am!!!

(Photos: Woolly's 2005 Production of The Clean House, top right, Guenia Lemos, left: Naomi Jacobson & Sarah Marshall, bottom Guenia Lemos & Naomi Jacobson)