Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Andrus Nichols shines in a rare revival of THE SAINTLINESS OF MARGERY KEMPE by John Wulp

• By drediman
• July 23, 2018
• No Comments

Andrus Nichols and Jason O’Connell in John Wulp’s “The Saintliness of Margery Kempe” at The Duke on 42nd Street.

Over the weekend, I caught a performance of Austin Pendleton’s revival of John Wulp’s rarely-performed 1959 play The Saintliness of Margery Kempe Off-Broadway at The Duke on 42^nd Street. The play bares many similarities to satiric “quest” works such as Voltaire’s Candide. Both portray title characters who question society’s moral codes and leave their respective homes to seek out the meaning of life. In their epic adventures – which span the course of a few eventful years in a number of continents – they don’t find many answers, simply more questions.

Unfortunately, such works rarely work as well as you’d like onstage. Candide was turned into an operetta-cum-musical by Leonard Bernstein whose book was notoriously repeatedly re-written, to minimal success despite its glorious score. The episodic nature of such narratives lends itself to scenes that seem more like sketches than anything that contributes to a satisfying cumulative punchline. Each scene is amusing on their own, but assessed all together, there’s the potential for a certain sameness in tone to creep in that can be wearing.

Luckily, this production of Margery Kempe features a wonderful central performance from Andrus Nichols in the title role, who here gets the opportunity to fully display her considerable comic chops, leading a company of well-seasoned, hardworking, and multi-tasking actors. I had first seen this talented actress’s work when she appeared, also in the title role, in Bedlam’s Saint Joan a number of seasons back and was blown away by the passion and commitment she portrayed. If she doesn’t quite reach the heights of that sensational earlier performance here – mostly I suspect because the Margery Kempe is a much less dramatically weighty and satisfying role – she’s still the main reason to visit Mr. Pendleton’s lightly fanciful production.

RECOMMENDED

THE SAINTLINESS OF MARGERY KEMPE
Off-Broadway, Play
The Duke on 42^nd Street
2 hours, 10 minutes (with one intermission)
Through August 26