Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Boston

The Tale of the Allergist's Wife
Lyric Stage Company

Also see Nancy's review of The Trip to Bountiful


Joel Colodner, Zaven Ovian, Ellen Colton, and Marina Re
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston is taking part in a celebration of the work of Charles Busch in honor of his thirtieth year as a produced playwright with its production of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. Nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2001, this mainstream romp is a departure in terms of setting and characters from Busch's other, less conventional plays, but features his trademark strong female role. It just so happens that in this instance, she is played by a woman, rather than a man in drag. Director Larry Coen, who previously staged Busch's The Divine Sister (SpeakEasy Stage 2011), has done his homework to capture the sensibility and sentiments of the playwright.

The setting is a tony Upper West Side apartment in a building with a doorman (Zaven Ovian), and the titular couple is Marjorie Taub (Marina Re) and her husband Ira (Joel Colodner). At the outset, Marjorie is in the throes of a major depression brought on by the death of her long-time therapist, and exacerbated by her ongoing existential angst. Although she has many interests and a jam-packed calendar, her life feels devoid of purpose. For his part, Ira is a do-gooder who helps the downtrodden and boosts his own ego in the process. Marjorie's mother Frieda (Ellen Colton) is a real Debbie Downer-type who contributes to her daughter's feelings of woe-is-me. Their world is turned topsy-turvy when Marjorie's long-lost friend Lee (Caroline Lawton) appears on their threshold to disrupt their lives, for better and worse.

Busch structures the play as a series of chapters that take the Taubs on the humorous, wending course Lee sets for them, like a latter day Pied Piper. At first, Marjorie blindly goes along and finds herself enlivened. However, when Ira and Frieda raise questions about Lee's intentions (and her very existence), Marjorie is forced to take a step back and examine the dynamics of their relationship. If nothing else, the experience teaches her the universal lesson that she always had the power within herself to solve her problems.

The Tale of the Allergist's Wife is quick paced, with an abundance of witty repartee infusing it with a New York sensibility (not that New Englanders are unable to sling wit). However, in an effort to convey that, the production starts off at such a high pitch with Re flopping dramatically and repeatedly on a lounge chair, that it paints itself into a corner. With a change in demeanor and numerous costume changes (she ditches her baggy, gray garb from the first scene for shapelier styles), Re portrays Marjorie's arc from depressive to self-determined, but it feels anti-climactic after all that fuss at the beginning.

Lawton is lively and puckish, leaving us—like the Taubs—off balance as we await Lee's next stunt. She has a very expressive face and struts into the apartment with big, fluid movements reflective of her larger-than-life persona. Her character offers a stark contrast to the others who are all more subdued, trapped inside the boundaries of their imaginations. Even Ira operates on a narrow continuum where he feels safe and revered. Colodner gives an even-keeled portrayal, but he is more a nice guy with healthy self-esteem than the colossal egotist as written. Colton shows her great comic timing and keeps the kvetchy Jewish mother stereotype from becoming a caricature. Ovian has limited duty as a device, but comfortably slides into the character.

Although the play itself feels laden and dated (despite the presence of updated technological gadgets), the design elements are bright and fresh. Enhanced by Chris Bocchiaro's lighting, Matt Whiton's scenic design conveys the size and scope of the posh apartment with an entire wall of windows overlooking the skyline (although the painted trees are rather primitive). Mallory Frers intriguingly favors a limited color palette (wine, black, white, gray) for the costumes and dresses both Marjorie and Lee in some fabulous outfits. Blackout scene changes are accompanied by a range of musical interludes which reflect the mood of the moment (sound design by Jack Staid). Unfortunately, in The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, the whole is less than the sum of its considerably talented parts.

The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, performances through December 20, 2014, at The Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com.

By Charles Busch, Directed by Larry Coen; Scenic Design, Matt Whiton; Costume Design, Mallory Frers; Lighting Design, Chris Bocchiaro; Sound Design, Jack Staid; Production Stage Manager, Nerys Powell; Assistant Stage Manager, Lian Guertin

Cast: Joel Colodner, Ellen Colton, Caroline Lawton, Zaven Ovian, Marina Re


Photo: Mark S. Howard

- Nancy Grossman