Judy (Dani Stoller) and Jeff (Mike Millan) are the musical-theater-obsessed protagonists of Ana Nogueira’s new comedy Which Way to the Stage? at Signature Theatre’s ARK: a playful, yet thought-provoking comedy about friendship, ambition, and what happens when dreams fall just out of reach.
The 30-something best friends, and hopeful actors, are struggling to gain any sort of foothold in an industry into which they don’t really fit. Jeff has resigned himself to the fact that the only parts out there for a femme gay man like him are the ones he creates for himself as a drag queen. Judy, meanwhile, describes her style as “real” — loud, Jewish, and not particularly sensual—in an industry where dynamism and seductiveness make one a star. She’s given up acting once, to become a realtor, but has recently started auditioning again for stock productions of Avenue Q and Spamalot.
With this background, it’s not surprising that Judy and Jeff idolize Idina Menzel, an unconventional Broadway celebrity. Each week, they make a pilgrimage to the stage door of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where Idina is performing in the musical If/Then, to try and claim what seems to be a symbolic totem of hope: Menzel’s autograph. If/Then is a show about the varying paths someone’s life can take depending on their fateful decisions. Judy makes a life-altering choice herself when she starts going out with handsome Mark (Michael Tacconi), a finance bro who gave up a lucrative career to chase his dream of being on Broadway. Mark has the easygoing, insouciant charm of a born star, yet is still trying to figure out his own choices, too, and why they keep leading to Jeff. Tacconi pulls off a very nuanced performance when stacked up against the very powerful characters of Jeff and Judy. It’s hard to play the “normal” one and still be interesting but he manages to stay true to the script while turning in a solid performance.
More than anything else, Which Way to the Stage? is a coming-of-age story, and Nogueira branches out that topic to cover friendship, theater-industry competition, the politics of bisexuality, the misogyny of drag, learning how to harness your personal powers, loving musicals, and what it means to worship at the altar of your idol, all in roughly 110 minutes. That’s a tall order, and while she doesn’t succeed on all fronts (honestly, who could?), she is at least a little bit successful in each case.
From the start of the piece, amidst banter and catty comments and shared enthusiasms, we gradually realize that Jeff and Judy’s friendship is heavy with barely contained resentment. Jeff lectures Judy when she uses a slur for gay men, only to casually drop demeaning words for women. After she leaves early during his drag tribute to Menzel, a wounded Jeff demands to know what she thought of his act. It is obvious that the last thing he wants is an honest opinion, but he pressures Judy anyway. The performances of both Stoller and Millan are rich, capturing the fluid nuances of friendship, shared interests and simmering resentments, with effective naturalism. They handle the language and quick pace dialog with ease and create a truly believable relationship on stage.
Nina-Sophia Pacheco rounds out the cast as the sole swing character and she appears to relish it. She shifts between characters smoothly giving each one a distinct rich history in just a few words and movements. It was a joy to watch her each time she entered the stage.
A single set that serves for multiple locations designed by Richard Ouellette is delightful in its simplicity. We transition easily from outside a theatre to a drag bar to an audition waiting room with each location feeling complete. No wasted space and every inch reinforcing the feel of the show. Of course, this is helped by the delightful lighting design by Jesse Belsky and clever costuming by Frank Labovitz.
Which Way to the Stage? is about the performances people put on for themselves, their friends, family and potential loved ones, as well as the identities they hide behind. This tension between who we are, who we think we are and the personas we project is especially fraught for actors, and it weighs heavily on Jeff and Judy. Nogueira’s writing is at its best when she lets anger bubble to the surface, but like Jeff and Judy with theater, it seems as if she can’t quite decide whether her play is, at heart, about love or cynicism. The show builds up to a conflagration that is the equivalent of an 11 o’clock number. But like many musicals, the show doesn’t know what to do with itself afterward, so it ends big with a number that is fun to watch but comes up short on resolution.
Good Art should move you. After this performance I was compelled to try to understand the why’s and wherefores of every decision made. Were these characters having the same conversations I was a part of years ago? Does anyone grow or change by the end of the show? Does anything ever get resolved? Who is the target audience for this show? How much will a heterosexual cisgendered non-theatre geek get out of this script? Should the show have been funnier or more serious? Should it have been an outright musical? If it were not for some solid material, top notch actors and good direction I would not have been so obsessed by this lovely little production. It reminded me in the very best way of some of the great off-Broadway work that was done in the late 80’s and earl 90’s.
Signature’s new Associate Artistic Director Ethan Heard makes his directorial debut with this funny and touching play about the roles we perform and transcending one’s “type.”
Running Time: Approximately 110 minutes with no intermission
Which Way To The Stage? plays through January 22, 2023 in the Ark Theatre at Signature Theatre— 4200 Campbell Avenue in Arlington, VA. For tickets call the box office at (703) 820-9771 or purchase them online.
