San Francisco Theater Review: BECKY SHAW (San Francisco Playhouse)

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by Stacy Trevenon on February 2, 2012

in Theater-San Francisco / Bay Area

BECKY SHAW WON’T LET YOU FORGET HER;
THAT’S A PROMISE AND A THREAT

I’m pleased to report that Becky Shaw is not easy to sit through. Five well-chiseled characters (that you pray you will never encounter) deliver a tsunami of shocking revelations (that you hope you will never experience) in a play that will have you laughing even as you squirm. The strong, unsettling reaction you experience – that is, after you catch your breath – comes from the fact that you want to look away, yet remain completely engrossed with this gem of a theatrical experience.

Under Amy Glaser’s solid direction, this regional premiere of Becky Shaw, a 2009 Pulitzer finalist by young playwright Gina Gionfriddo, is brought to unforgettable life in the close quarters of The SF Playhouse. Artistic Director Bill English is right on when he bills the show as a 21st-century twist on what Oscar Wilde might do with today’s more convoluted and angst-ridden relationships. No wonder that, while stagehands gracefully reshape English’s terrific set, a bed is the dominant feature.

The SF Playhouse presents Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo – directed by Amy Glaser - San Francisco Theater Review by Stacy Trevenon

The play begins with Suzanna Slater (the gripping Liz Sklar), a psych grad student right out there on the edge of sanity along with her patients. Following her emotional reaction to the death of her father, she breaks conventional sibling boundaries by sleeping with her adopted brother Max (a finely honed, multi-layered Brian Robert Burns). Immediately after that, viewers are thrown for a loop even more by the introduction of Suzanna’s all-too-compassionate husband Andrew Porter (the appealing and folksy Lee Dolson) and waspish mother Susan (Lorri Holt, who perfectly captures the ruthless and embittered woman who is compromised by multiple sclerosis).

The SF Playhouse presents Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo – directed by Amy Glaser - San Francisco Theater Review by Stacy Trevenon

Into this unimaginably co-dependent mix enters Becky Shaw (Lauren English), who is set up by Suzanna and Andrew for a blind date with Max. Edgy yet heartbreaking in her vulnerable neediness, she is definitely and chillingly no shrinking violet. Thrust into the churning melee of multiple romantic triangles that exist among the other four characters, she becomes a catalyst that pushes them toward resolution, but whether or not that is even possible is a large reason why this story is so captivating and compelling.

The SF Playhouse presents Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo – directed by Amy Glaser - San Francisco Theater Review by Stacy Trevenon

Becky’s arrival, along with an unfortunate brush with a crime that mars the blind date, reshuffles the already unstable mix. The ensuing story will no doubt provoke quandaries in the viewer: What do we owe to those we love? What – if anything – do we owe to those who thrust responsibility onto us? How do we negotiate – or even recognize – the fine line between casual and dependent or healthy and mega-dysfunctional relationships? What do we do to ourselves, given things we can and can’t control? There is little choice for spectators but to grapple with answers and reflect on human nature.

The SF Playhouse presents Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo – directed by Amy Glaser - San Francisco Theater Review by Stacy Trevenon

Part of the thrilling suspense occurs as the quintet lurches toward resolution, only to have everything upended and poised to backslide into dysfunction in the end. Given Gionfriddo’s masterful writing and all of the surprise twists in her labyrinthine story, you should be grateful and all the more satisfied when she leaves us hanging with no clear answers. No, this Pandora’s Box of the shockingly unimaginable just creates more questions for us to reflect upon. How refreshing.

photos by Jessica Palopoli

Becky Shaw
The SF Playhouse
ends on March 10, 2012
for tickets, call 415-677-9596 or visit SF Playhouse

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