A Feminine Ending
When we saw Brooke Bloom's portrayal of Ophelia last year (in South Coast Repertory's superb production of "Hamlet"), we sensed we were in the presence of a young star on the rise.
Now Brooke is back at SCR in the lead role of Sarah Treem's "A Feminine Ending" and our feelings are confirmed. From the minute she takes the stage as Amanda, a bright music student who longs to become a great composer, we are snagged: hook, line and sinker.
Talking directly to the audience as if we're old friends, Amanda relates her bohemian background and her ambitions, then tells us how difficult it is to be taken seriously--especially when you're a female oboe player.
And oh, yes, we have to know the difference between feminine and masculine endings in classical music composition (think metaphors) and we have to meet her parents who grew up in the sixties.
If you're hungry for a play full of sharp wit and intellect—one that explores contemporary life and love, dreams and desires through crisp articulate dialogue--this West coast premiere is an absolute must.
Produced in association with Portland Center Stage under the astute direction of Timothy Douglas, the story unfolds in Brooklyn (where Amanda lives with Jack, her gonna-be-a-star fiance) and New Hampshire (where her resigned parents have settled down for the past 30 years).
The cast is terrific. Weaving in and out of Treem's 90-minute one-act on cue, they appear and disappear as the action demands, on Tony Cisek's fast-change set under Peter Maradudin's light design.
First we meet Jack (Peter Katona), Amanda's handsome stud who is on the fast track to becoming a singing celebrity. Jack quickly gains an agent who advises him to drop out of school and hit the road. But if he does his father will disown him, then who will pay the bills?
You guessed it, Amanda, who puts her own career on hold to support both of them. How? By writing trite commercial jingles which totally appalls her parents. Why would their beautiful talented daughter sacrifice herself for someone who will gain fame at her expense?
Amy Aquino is sharp as a tack in her hilarious portrayal of Kim, Amanda's mother, a middle-aged woman who is depressed over the way her own life turned out. Again and again she threatens to leave her husband (veteran actor Alan Blumenfeld), and again she calls Amanda to come help her pack.
Big-hearted daughter rushes home to New Hampshire to comfort her mom and talk her out of her foolishness. The colorful encounters between Kim and her daughter are priceless. Then Amanda bumps into Billie, her dopey high-school sweetheart who still lives in town and works as a mailman.
Jedadiah Schultz almost steals the show in his comical portrayal of this college dropout. Especially delicious is his attitude about life and his explanation of culture, linguistics and language structure. Their laissez-faire encounter rekindles a spark in Amanda that makes her question the decisions she has made--questions that, in combination with her parents' dilemma, put uncertainty into her
mind.
And so, as in life itself, the play turns in a direction that was least expected by the gifted oboe player. Like the symphony she has long dreamed of composing, Amanda must find her own rhythm and be free to give it a heart-felt "Feminine Ending."
When: Tues.-Sun., 7:45 pm; Sat.-Sun., 2 pm; through Jan. 27
Tickets: $28-$62; (714) 708-5555 or http://www.scr.org/