THE PETITE POLITIQUE
Few playwrights have it as good as Beau Willimon at the moment; he’s a critical and commercial success on all three major platforms—stage, screen, and stream. His play Farragut North was so successful and praiseworthy that George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio both bought the rights to adapt it to film; George Clooney ultimately directed, co-starred, and co-wrote the adaptation (with Willimon and Grant Heslov) that became the Oscar-nominated The Ides of March. In 2012, Willimon and director David Fincher developed the Netflix original series House of Cards (based on the BBC series of the same name), and now, the world premiere of his new work commissioned by New York’s Flea Theater, The Parisian Woman (itself inspired by Henri Becque’s play of the same name), touches down in Costa Mesa at South Coast Rep.
A few major changes keep this piece from being an adaptation of Becque’s work: the action is shifted from 19th century Paris, France to present day Washington, D.C., there are no direct addresses to the audience, two characters are removed, two new characters are inserted, and the Parisian woman (Chlotilde—now Chloe) is Parisian in laissez-faire, cunning character, not by birth or dwelling place. Dana Delaney anchors the five-person cast as the conniving and cutting adulterous housewife, Chloe. Her nature at the beginning can be mistaken for being glib, however, the depth and subtleties of her beguiling performance develop like a gleeful spider ensnaring its prey; mesmerizing to behold, yet surreptitiously vicious. Steven Weber plays Mark, the trial lawyer married to Chloe; he is ambivalent of his wife’s adulterous lifestyle, and passionately ambitious for the position of Attorney General. Weber’s turn as the intelligent title-seeking attorney is simultaneously layered with the debonair demeanor necessary to mesh well on the hill and a tender touch that renders him an anomaly in the heartless society. Delaney and Weber share a great natural chemistry that gives the piece a solid core to work from.
Steven Culp plays DC power broker Peter who has made the unfortunate mistake of falling in love with Chloe; he gives a humorous performance as the befuddled sap. Linda Gehringer plays Treasury Secretary nominee Jeanette Simpson, a woman who wields substantive influence on the Hill and finds Chloe exciting and charming. Gehringer gives a delicately steely performance of the courteous yet contentious DC diva. Simpson’s daughter Rebecca, played by Rebecca Mozo, takes on the family trade as a young woman primped and prepared for a powerful and lasting political career, her role is the smallest but she nonetheless gives a multi-dimensional performance and makes the most of each moment with her character’s intelligence and naïveté competing against each other as she must make a difficult decision about what she really wishes to accomplish with her life.
Director Pam McKinnon directs the breezy and barbed backroom political drama so efficiently that its fusion of humor and politicking are unusual yet charmingly munificent. Marion Williams’ sets are a tasteful blend of colonial and modern architecture and furnishings. David Kay Mickelsen’s outfits drape Miss Delaney with an elegant flair; showcasing her cultured sense and colorful flair. My sole gripe with Parisian is the manner which a key plot point is handled; what should be a sharp shock becomes blunted early on by a lack of subtlety in the otherwise deliciously scathing work about these Machiavellian-minded individuals. The verbal battles and insight into how DC wars are won make Beau Willimon’s The Parisian Woman gripping, but it is the spry zingers and clever quips that keep it thoroughly engaging and enjoyable.
photos by Henry DiRocco/SCR
The Parisian Woman
SCR’s Julianne Argyros Stage in Costa Mesa
scheduled to end on May 4, 2013
for tickets, visit http://www.scr.org/
