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Regional Reviews: St. Louis One Flea Spare
One of the darkest periods in human history is exposed here, in amazing detail. But it's all done with unexpected charm: thanks to great characterizations, under the direction of Ellie Schwetye. It's also the best work I've ever seen from the veteran players in the cast. On the one hand, Naomi Wallace's 1995 two-act play is touching, noble, funny and even romantic. And on the other, One Flea Spare makes all of our modern problems seem exceedingly petty and small by comparison. It also won the OBIE Award for "Best Play" in 1997. A mad, Dickensian "guard" patrols the neighborhood: calling out the death tolls from all the London townships, hundreds of people in every corner of the city, at the height of the plague. And if you happen to break the quarantine by going outside, he's deputized to kill you. So a wealthy Naval lawyer and his wife are holed-up alone insideuntil two different trespassers break in, and they're all trapped together. An amazing amount of detail comes pouring out: about them, and their time, and a deadly, out-of-control disease. In No Exit, Sartre's young lady famously discovers that "hell is other people." But in One Flea Spare, they're that and an unexpected door to heaven as well. Hannah Ryan is delightful as a young servant who escapes from the brutality of her masters, crawling down into the Snelgrave home from the rooftop, and Charlie Barron is excellent, escaping the dragoons of the Royal Navy. Ms. Ryan is both innocent and full of brilliant flashes of insightand thanks to the strange, smoky lighting (by Bess Moynihan) she often seems to be poised in some oddly dark painting by Vermeer. Mr. Barron is wonderfully naturalistic, and if you're my age or older, you may see a resemblance to the late character actor Donald Pleasanceadding a chilly desperation to odd moments. Shadows and fog, and a bit of expressionistic make-up all heighten the tension, even as the characters become more uniquely vulnerable and authentic. It might just as well be The Diary Of Anne Frank with actual rats, instead of Nazis, though this show ends on a more humane note. The script and mood and acting are nerve-tingling, with spooky production values that nudge the whole thing round the bend toward madness. Kelley Weber is completely disarming as Darcy Snelgrave, with a terrible secret going in, and a couple more developing later on. And Joe Hanrahan is outstanding as the educated man who yearns for the seahis love of order and discipline keeping them all alive, but also threatening to bring down their home in the end. Andrew Kuhlman is fantastically bizarre as the neighborhood guard, keeping the quarantine in force, in a 28-day period of martial law. As Kabe he delights in his newfound powers, but also manages to add lust and prophecy, each in full color. It's a pretty spectacular performance. A fellow critic in town is calling this one of the "best plays" of the year, and that could easily prove to be true. It runs through August 29, 2015 at the Chapel, 6238 Alexander Dr., just south of Wydown Blvd. and Skinker (on a tiny side-street, behind that beautiful white stone church, across from Forest Park). For more information visit www.slightlyoff.org Performance Ensemble Production Ensemble
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