Is the grass really greener on the other side? Ever wonder what life would be like if you chose to take the opposite path? What if you could live whatever life you wanted what would it be, and do you really think that would be the key to eternal bliss or end in eternal sorrow? Rapture, Bliss, Burn written by Gina Gionfriddo, directed by Suzanne Beal and on stage now at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre in Frederick, MD tries to answer these questions all the while diving headlong into themes of gender roles, feminism, happiness, and having-it-all.
The story begins with Catherine Croll (Laura Stark) returning home to take care of her mother (Carol Randolph) after her mother’s heart attack. Catherine, a well-established, world-renowned, author and scholar reaches out after a night of binge-drinking to her former lover (Ron Ward) and best friend (Gené Fouché) – now married to each other – to get situated with a job at the local liberal arts college. Don (Ron Ward) her former lover, is a dean at the college and with the one phone call Gwen (Gené Fouché) puts Catherine on Don’s list, enabling the reunion, intersection of their lives, and the possibility to live the life lost to choices made when the three were in their early 20’s.
Returning to the town in the early summer, Don helps Catherine get a summer teaching job to get her through until the fall semester starts. Her first class has two students – Avery (Madeline Reinhold) and Gwen. In the first meeting of the class, through deep discussion of feminism and career versus marriage, revelations of marital problems from money to porn are divulged from Gwen. Gwen reveals that she often wonders if she made the right choice or if she left something behind by choosing a family rather than a career. Catherine, on the other hand, openly reveals her lack of security that has come front and center with the possibility of her mother’s death. Adding important layers to the debate are Avery and Alice (Carol Randolph). Avery, the twenty-something self-confident youth believes that neither Catherine nor Gwen have a sustainable life model for a modern woman. Stating, “you either have a career and wind up lonely and sad, or you have a family and wind up lonely and sad?” Avery puts into perspective the issues that plague both Catherine and Gwen. Enter Catherine’s mother Alice, with drinks, who adds a much-needed generational perspective to the conversation, asking out loud, “why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” The three generations of women discuss the importance of the work of Betty Friedan and Phyllis Schlafly.
Both Catherine and Gwen work their own angles to get what the other has and by the end of Act I it is decided that Gwen will take her 13-year-old son to New York and live in Catherine’s apartment while Don will move in to Catherine’s home with their 3-year-old son. Gwen will get her independence and Catherine will have her family life. Both getting what they want – having-it-all and living on the other side. But is this truly what will make each of them happy or will this turn into a disaster? Only time will tell. Maybe the grass is greener on the other side, but maybe it is not.
Director Suzanne Beal’s work with the heady script and profound topics debating career versus marriage, feminist response to pornography, and the evolution of the role of women in horror movies, is truly genius. The script is easy to bog the audience down in the minutia of the who’s who of the feminist movement and antifeminist response and without skilled direction could easily become a lecture rather than the witty drama that was placed on stage. Director Beal uses the stage space well, delineating the porch scenes from the house interior off to the side and using the three-quarter thrust to enable the audience to fully embrace the intimacy of the show in a voyeuristic and intimate way.
Laura Stark portrays the nuances of Catherine with finesse. Stark’s portrayal of a Catherine that is intelligent and sexy, yet soft and sensitive is the perfect balance for a character searching for answers to her life-long question of “did I chose correctly.” Stark commands the stage, whether holding class or having an intimate moment with Don. Gené Fouché’s performance as Gwen Harper is one to remember! Sitting in the audience, there was an immediate distaste for Gwen that grew as the show continued, and it was Fouché’s portrayal that enabled this reviewer to have such a visceral reaction. Gwen did pull my heartstrings at moments throughout the show and it was the subtle actions and reactions of Fouché that allowed me to feel for and with Gwen as the show moved toward the ending. Ron Ward creates a Don that is the epitome of the pathetic, pot-head, unmotivated, slovenly male that easily manipulated by both Gwen and Catherine. Ward’s talent shines as he provides the foil to Fouché’s Gwen who keeps everything organized and tries to keep the house running smoothly. In the second act, when Don and Catherine are together, it is Ward’s creation of a character that lacks caring and that is easily manipulated that helps the audience see that the grass may not be greener.
The shining stars in this production are Madeline Reinhold as Avery and Carol Randolph as Alice. Both adding a layer of genuine care, understand, and most importantly humor to the show. Show opposite ends of the generational spectrum Reinhold and Randolph uniquely manipulate the words of the script with impeccable timing. Reinhold’s Avery grows as she discovers the alternative perspectives on life, men, and feminism. Randolph’s Alice is full of spunk and caring, with amazing zingers thrown in for good measure. It is Avery and Alice (Reinhold and Randolph) that help Catherine become free.
Overall there was solid production value from the production team. The sound design by Thom Huenger was appropriate from the sounds of a summer night outside to the music selected for the scene changes. The scene design by Eric Breninghausen, scenic painting by Todd Mazzie, and properties by Lia Seltzer worked well together and enhanced the performance by creating the perfect setting for each scene. The costume design by Stephanie Hyder was simple, yet sophisticated. A special mention for the costumes created for Alice and Avery as both stood out throughout the show. As Avery evolved, so did her costumes, and Alice had costumes that matched her generational elegance. A special mention to the lighting designer Michael Brown, who used the lighting in the intimate MET to perfection! Brown was able to create two very defined spaces – an interior and an exterior – in such an intimate space with the use of minimal lighting. The evening scenes on the porch were beautiful and the designation of time moving forward with the use of the lights was well-done.
Although the writing of the show can be heavy and slow at times, the director, cast and creative team have created a production that will keep you entertained and engaged throughout the entire performance. Theatre inspires, it is thought-provoking, and it opens eyes to themes and concepts that are not all too familiar to every audience member and this production at MET does just that! I found myself debating ideas brought up in the show with friends and doing research on Betty Friedan and Phyllis Schlafly. After venturing to the other side, tempting fate and what might have been with this show, the search for eternal bliss continues, but maybe not by looking back on what was. As Catherine says in her toast at the end “To broken hearts mending. After heart attacks and disappointments in love. May we all feel better.”
Running Time: 2 hours and 25 minutes with one intermission
Rapture, Blister, Burn plays through April 29, 2018 at on the Main Stage of the Maryland Ensemble Theatre in the Historic FSK Hotel building— 31 W. Patrick street in downtown historic Frederick, MD. For tickets call the box office at (301) 694-4744 or purchase them online.
