Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Marcus Gardley’s THE HOUSE THAT WILL NOT STAND straddles two worlds, thematically and aesthetically

• By drediman
• August 10, 2018
• No Comments

Lynda Gravátt and Marie Thomas in Marcus Gardley’s “The House That Will Not Stand” at New York Theatre Workshop.

Last night, I caught Marcus Gardley’s The House That Will Not Stand in an entertaining, polished Off-Broadway production at New York Theatre Workshop. The play is a loose adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba that’s set in 1813 Louisiana on the night that the French territory became part of the United States. It tells the story of the recently-widowed Beatrice and her three daughters – all four free women of color – as they look over the edge of a precipice. Life for each of them, after this fateful night, will never be the same again.

There’s much to commend about Mr. Gardley’s atmospheric, richly-written historical drama. He does a fascinating job of repurposing Lorca’s basic plot, illuminating dialogue around the themes of independence and freedom vis-à-vis captivity and slavery, particularly interesting at that juncture in American history. As the play unfolds, it becomes increasingly unclear as to who is truly free, in a larger sense. Conceptually, I like the idea of applying a contemporary sensibility onto what is essentially a period costume drama. In execution, however, the seams that bind the two aesthetics together showed, distracting rather than creating a symbiosis – therefore slightly dulling the impact of what’s surely meant to be a hard-hitting piece of theater.

Luckily, talented up-and-coming director Lileana Blain-Cruz has assembled a vibrant, enjoyable production, which is at its strongest when indulging in Mr. Gardley’s delicious sense of humor. Her handsomely-appointed staging (set design by Adam Rigg, costume design by Montana Blanco) also does well to accommodate the play’s heavy dosage of magic realism. The centerpiece of the production is undoubtedly the magnificent performance of Linda Gravátt as the matriarch Beatrice. In true southern fashion, it’s a mature, slow-burning portrayal that takes its time growing in stature and dimension. By the play’s conclusion, she’ll have you eating out of the palm of her hands. The rest of the seven-woman cast is very good, but their characters are mostly of the stock variety.

RECOMMENDED

THE HOUSE THAT WILL NOT STAND
Off-Broadway, Play
New York Theatre Workshop
2 hours, 10 minutes (without an intermission)
Through August 19