| When She Was God |
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When She Was
God By Tony Dallas Keyhole Theatre I recall a scene in the first season of Desperate Housewives where the perfectly uptight Brie and her (now deceased) husband were at a couples therapy session, trying to salvage their troubled marriage. Although the therapist was extolling on a supposedly revealing observation regarding the couple’s troubles, Brie was not listening – she was distracted by a button on the therapist’s shirt that was hanging, ready to fall off. The more the therapist talked, the more the obsessive red-head zeroed in on that button, until finally she jumped out of her seat, grabbed a sewing kit from her purse (of course she would carry this with her everywhere she went) and ran to the therapist, requesting that he take off his shirt so that she could fix it. Though I certainly did not jump out of my theatre seat (and
do not possess Brie’s red coif), I found myself distracted throughout When She Was God by details that did not
jive with the production. Being that
this play is replete with intriguing themes and astute observations, this is
unfortunate. Keyhole Theatre’s Chicago premier of When She Was God, written by Tony Dallas and directed by the company’s founder, Frank Merle, tells the story of two women, one a middle-aged psychiatrist, Judith (Julie Mitre), recently promoted to head of the mental ward, and Magda (Kelly Holden), an up-and coming brilliant artist, recently admitted after attempting suicide. As the psychiatrist begins therapy with Magda, it is apparent that Magda holds many dark secrets, secrets that are only able to present themselves through her troubled dreams, many of them involving ancient mythology. As Judith struggles to interpret her patient’s dreams, her own internal pain and well-hidden memories begin to unravel, as a tenuous and possibly dangerous bond begins to emerge between doctor and patient. The majority of the action takes place in the psychiatrist’s office. Keyhole Theatre’s welcoming space is very intimate, and the director makes good use of this asset by seemingly bringing you into the office, especially as the psychiatrist narrates to the audience her thoughts and observations. But like Desperate Housewives’ Brie and her button, I was distracted by this little cubby-hole that resided in the back of the stage. The cubbyhole was used for all of the dream sequences, sequences which are tantamount to the When She Was A God’s story. To make matters worse, this “dream cave” was cluttered with gaudy curtains and sad-looking hanging mobiles. This cluttered alcove was a detriment when trying to use the dreams to tell the story to its furthest effect. Why didn’t they just bring the dream sequences out in front of the stage as Magda tells them, much the same way the director used during every other scene that was out of the office, thus thrusting the dreams into the view that matches the intensity of the dream itself? These dreams are bizarre and larger-than-life, and we need to feel them spiritually as well as physically in order to be drawn in to Magda’s psyche. The acting is mostly solid, especially Holden’s Magda, as she convincingly portrayed a troubled yet aloof artist. The men are also talented. Charles Riffenburg pulls off the cast’s best performance, nailing his role of Magda’s ex-husband Hal. The other two men, J.P. Pierson and Robin Trevino, honestly and disturbingly perform their multiple part roles. But again, we were distracted by the sub-par performance of Erin Killean, playing the young Magda in all of the dream sequences. Indeed, when Killean opened up the first scene, it seemed like she was presenting a parody of bad acting. Unfortunately this was not the case. Parody it was not. It should be noted, though, that Killean’s performance did improve as the play progressed, culminating with a scene near the end of the second act, a deeply disturbing scene where we finally see the twisted and perverse treatment of Magda at the hands of her father. The most effective writing in this work occurs when the playwright uncovers disturbing nuances of childhood abuse. Being that When She Was A God is a play that skillfully explores the pressures and abuses put upon women in our society, it’s amazing to think that this play was written by a man. When She Was A God
is a well-written play, and Keyhole Theatre made a wise choice in choosing this
for their season. I look forward to them
making directorial choices that are just as consistently top-notch. Rating: Acceptable (2.5 stars) Reviewed by Scotty Zacher |
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