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Regional Reviews: Los Angeles
It starts off treading well-worn ground. We're in the home of an older author, played by Laura Linney. A young man, a representative of her publisher, has come to the author's home in order to convince her to write another popular novel. The author, who is one of those old-enough-to-not-give-a-damn-what-she-says sort of characters, is bitchy and rude, and wants nothing more than to taunt and bully the young man into walking out. The young man, who needs the signed contract if he wants to keep his job, keeps trying different ways to stay and engage the author. The first twenty minutes of Switzerland is a lot of the author telling the young man to leave, and the young man standing in the threshold, about to go, but coming up with one last thing to say that earns him another few minutes of trying. Its mildly interesting, but nothing we haven't seen before in dozens of plays filling stages around town. One wonders why an actress with Linney's credits would take on such a part. One also wonders what the play is doing in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, the Geffen's smaller space where edgier, more experimental work is done. But, mostly, one wonders when, if ever, this play is going to grab the audience's interest and actually start pulling you in. It does, eventually, but it takes about half the play's 95 minutes to get there. The author character in question isn't a random creation out of playwright Joanna Murray-Smiths imagination, but Patricia Highsmith, the actual author of such thrillers as "Strangers on a Train" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." The young man, Edward, doesn't want just any new novel; he wants Highsmith to write another Ripley book, one that will rival the success of "The Talented" and will cement Highsmith's reputation for generations to come. And the moment Switzerland finally grabs you by the shirt and makes you pay attention is the moment when Highsmith is finally convinced to give Edward a taste of the Ripley novel she's been contemplating. The lights focus, Linney's manner of speaking changes, and Highsmith is narrating the Ripley scene. And it's intriguing. When the scene Highsmith is narrating comes to an abrupt halt, we're thrown out of Ripley's world back into the rather less interesting world of Highsmith's. Plot developments happen, some of them quite curious—but, if you're like me, you're just marking time until Highsmith and Edward get back to the Ripley story. While I lay most of the blame for the boring first half on Murray-Smith, some of the responsibility has to go to Linney as well. Her Highsmith, although articulate in her insults, is pretty much a one-note character—she's grumpy and dismissive. When Switzerland opens, it looks like one of those two-people-from-different-demographic-groups-eventually-find-common-ground-and-grudging-mutual-respect endeavors, but there's nothing redeemingly human in this Highsmith for Edward to actually like. Seth Numrich starts slow—his Edward spends a lot of the opening scene spouting pre-scripted lines to Highsmith; Edward has actually rehearsed how he imagined this meeting was going to go. But once Edward drops his script and starts being himself, Numrich has a lot more to play, and he's the one who ultimately turns in a memorable performance. When Switzerland finally came to an end, I had more respect for Murray-Smith as a playwright than at the start. Little things I'd scribbled in my notes from earlier scenes, but had otherwise forgotten, made more sense—and I do like it when a playwright plays fair with her audience. As Edward attempts to cajole Highsmith to write the Ripley story—a concept he treats with reverence—there are some good ruminations about the nature of writing as art, and an author's feelings toward her creations that will outlive her. When everything was said and done, I found Switzerland to be well worth the trip. Switzerland runs at the Geffen through April 19, 2015. For tickets and information, see www.GeffenPlayhouse.com. The Geffen Playhouse production of Switzerland by Joanna Murray-Smith. Scenic Designer Anthony T. Fanning; Costume Designer Ellen McCartney; Lighting Designer Lap Chi Chu; Composer & Sound Designer John Ballinger; Fight Choreographer J. David Brimmer; Production Stage Manager Cate Cundiff; Casting Director Phyllis Schuringa, CSA; Directed by Mark Brokaw. Cast: Photo by Michael Lamont |
