|
Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. The Fix
Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, presented the U.S. premiere of The Fix in 1998, and now it's back in a supercharged production reimagined by its original director: Eric Schaeffer, the company's artistic director. Where this musical satire by John Dempsey (book and lyrics) and Dana P. Rowe (music) once seemed too outrageous to be anything but a funhouse mirror vision of American politics, some things have changed in 17 years and now it seems less absurd and more cautionary. Some of the lines resonate differently now and, in fact, the authors have reworked the ending in a way that never would have worked in 1998. The major players in The Fix are Senator Reed Chandler (Bobby Smith), a smiling empty suit who loses his chance to become president when he inconveniently has a heart attack during sex with his mistress; his steely wife Violet (Christine Sherrill), who isn't going to let Reed's death keep her family out of the White House; his brother Grahame (Lawrence Redmond), who got the brains in the family but none of the tact; and his son Cal (Mark Evans), who wants to be left alone to smoke pot and play rock guitar. Very soon, Cal realizes that what he wants has nothing to do with maintaining the Chandler family legacy. (The family's motto is "Whatever it takes" —in Latin, of course.) In a succession of scenes well paced by Schaeffer and animated by Matthew Gardiner's choreography, Cal serves in the army, marries a well-bred living Barbie doll (Jessica Lauren Ball), and becomes the perfect person to smile winsomely and put across a vapid, meaningless campaign speech. (Hannah Marsh's video design turns the stage's video screens into teleprompters so the audience can follow Cal's every nuance and gesture.) Evans gives a propulsive, aggressively physical performance; Cal has to cope with constant stress without crumbling, which requires a lot of strength. To be fair, anyone would have trouble standing up to Redmond's urbane menace and Sherrill's flawless veneer, assisted by Smith's cynicism from beyond the grave. Signature regulars Will Gartshore and an unrecognizable Tracy Lynn Olivera provide fun cameos. On top of everything else, The Fix is visually stunning. Backed by Misha Kachman's pseudo-White House set, lighting designer Ryan O'Gara conjures up shafts of color and explosive bursts of intense white light.
Signature Theatre
Donna: Jamie Eacker
Directed by Eric Schaeffer
MAX Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave.
|
