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The play Last Summer at Bluefish Cove by Jane Chambers deals with themes of love, self-discovery, and loss that are as unique in this play as they are universal in life. The production currently running at The Stella Adler Theater and produced by The LA Women’s Theatre Project is one that handles its subject with grace. In reading director Dee Jae Cox’s program notes about her production she refers to it as both timeless and as a lesbian story. I will agree that the story is timeless, but to call it a lesbian story simply because it’s principal characters are lesbian, does the play a grave disservice. The piece is a slice of life with a point of view to be sure, but it is even-handed, never preachy and it is universal. In the hands of a lesser director “Last Summer” might be the last piece of “lesbian theater” you’d ever want to see. This mostly insightful production will have you wanting more.
In Bluefish Cove we meet a group of friends who has clearly known each other for a long time. Their relationships have shifted and grown throughout the years – and it’s the rich backstory, played to perfection and with unselfconscious abandon that makes us want to know more about these women in the here and now.
I’ve heard some say Last Summer is an “80’s women’s response” to Mart Crowley’s 60’s classic The Boys in the Band. It is true that one depicts a group of gay male friends and their dynamic, and the other a group of lesbians and theirs. But where the first show depicts a devolving of the human spirit and a bitter hopelessness, the other depicts an evolution to something higher and more hopeful even as it explores the deepest of losses.
There are many questions to be answered throughout the evening: Will the successful, nationally known feminist doctor (Kitty) whose current paramour (Rita) types all four drafts of Kitty’s every written work open up about her sexuality to the newcomer in the group, or to her public? Will that same doctor’s former love (Lil), battling an unnamed but virulent cancer allow herself to live the truth of a battle for her life, while simultaneously falling for a new love and the cruel hope of a new beginning? Will the newcomer to the group (Eva) come to grips with events that are about to change her in very real ways? Will an older woman (Sue) continue to allow her fear of solitude stand in the way of fulfillment and joy? Can a beautiful young woman (Donna) accept that pretty is temporary but that with luck and some work, life goes on for a long time? And what of the one stable couple in the group (Annie and Rae)? Does their life actually exemplify an idealized heterosexual norm that is both desired and derided throughout the piece or is there more to it all than meets the eye?
The cast is sometimes uneven with a few members of the company having volume or diction issues. And it is an effect of the writing that, as in life, some characters take on more supporting roles. But it should be noted that even those characters are richly drawn and played with commitment.
Georgia Reed as Lil and Jen Kuhn as Eva are perfect. They suit their roles and each other in the purest of ways and are more than impressive. These two actresses are masterful. These two actresses play out a delicate, balletic interaction with ease; each taking turns as the seducer and the seduced, the innocent and the knowing. With each turn, there is a new shape to their relationship. It’s the kind of thing that keeps an audience riveted.
Early on I had some trouble with Lucki Wheating’s portrayal of Kitty. Kitty is a successful feminist writer, who is feels trapped and forced to remain closeted due to social mores. The actress appeared uncomfortable and almost halting in her manner and speech. But by the end of the first act she had fully embraced the range of the character and beautifully played the creative harmonic dissonance between Kitty’s discomfort, intelligence, and heart.
Katelyn Ann Clark as Sue the senior (and financially successful) half of a relationship might have allowed herself more range, but her character’s personal journey did resolve itself with successful flair. The younger half of the couple, Donna (as played by Kim Turner) is less convincing in her performance, but I’m not sure if the choices were acting or directorial. I found it odd that she who was caught up in seemingly materialistic mindset, would actually sit in the sand while wearing a cocktail dress as she attempted to cajole her lover into buying extravagant shoes. And the moments of her trying to catch glances of a former flame through a “suggested” window were overplayed and unfocused for my tastes. Her second act however, really brought the character to life for me.
Looking at the closest thing to a traditional heterosexual couple on the stage, we have Annie and Rae. Rae, as played by Alicia Tycer is a character who identifies herself as liking to cook and clean and make a home. We also come to find out that she’s been married, had children and lost those children to her ex-husband in a divorce. While Ms. Tycer is a capable enough actress, I would have wished for someone with a bit more age. I never quite felt her Rae had much life experience. Her past was played as though it carried no real weight and was just something that happened. She was however, balanced nicely by Annie played by Sheena Metal. Metal cracked wise with spot on timing, and took an impressive layered, nuanced approach to her role. She has a most unlikely moment at the end of the piece that I found to be breathtakingly riveting.
I would like to point out that I understand wanting to keep timeless themes in a timeless setting, but the text is set firmly in the 1980’s and is filled with references to iconic figures such as Phil Donahue, David Susskind, Marlo Thomas, et al. And my only real quibble with this production is that certain directorial choices seem to fight the text. The music coming from a boom-box on a beach could have been more “of it’s time”. The music in our lives has an uncanny ability to take us back to the when and where of hearing it. The songs we hear in important, pivotal or crisis moments become the soundtracks of our lives. It is unfortunate that the introduction of pleasant, but completely unfamiliar music is peppered throughout the piece. The introduction of a “story song” that was literally acted out (word for word) at the end of Act I had the unfortunate effect of temporarily, but very firmly yanking me out of the story. What might have been a subtle, poignant still life with a gifted lead actress living out a moment for us to share, provided instead a song with a lyric that detailed her every gesture. Because there was nothing that literal anywhere else in the production, it stood out as something apart from as opposed to a part of the show itself. These choices didn’t ultimately hurt the over-all production, or my enjoyment of it, but they did in my opinion keep it from realizing it’s fullest potential. There were laughs of recognition and connection that audience members expressed at specific references to 80’s figures. By including unfamiliar music, not only is the comfortable (and potentially deeper) musical connection lost, but we’ve lost the impactful and poignant “Aha!” moment where the audience discovers that whether it’s the 80’s or today, many of the same struggles remain.
Overall, the entire story is explored in a nicely paced, nicely acted and easy on the eyes production that is moving to a new venue for an extended run. It should be seen by anyone male or female with a beating heart and an ounce of humanity. This production will move you.
For the dates, new theater location and additional information please visit: http://www.lawomenstheatreproject.com/
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