THEATER REVIEW: Azuka Theatre's ACT A LADY

Azuka Theatre opens its season with Act a Lady, in which men reveal their femininity and women unleash their masculinity.

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THEATER REVIEW: Azuka Theatre's ACT A LADY

POSTED: Monday, November 14, 2011, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Arts Theater

(L-R) Mike Dees and Amanda Schoonover in Azuka Theatre's Act a Lady. Photo | (Johanna Austin of AustinArt, austinart.org)

Forget your sex. Azuka Theatre opens its season and newly transformed First Baptist Church with Act a Lady, in which men reveal their femininity and women unleash their masculinity.

In a Midwestern town in 1927, where rebelling against conventional small-town behavior (which is, frankly, “to raise a family”) is highly discouraged, three good-natured men decide to put on a play in which they dress up as women (to the horror of the local Christians).

Mike Dees plays mild-mannered Miles, whose goofy, gentle giant demeanor resembles Jason Segel in How I Met Your Mother. His wife, Dorothy (Leah Walton), wears the pants in the relationship. She’s commandeering, religiously devout, and plays quite a few Satan-hating tunes on the accordion during the quick changes (amusing but sometimes lasting a verse too long).

Jamison Foreman flawlessly took on the role of the adorable Casper, whose soft effeminacy gives him a natural advantage at playing a woman. Casper repeatedly forces himself to bury his feelings for True (Matt Tallman) before realizing that he doesn’t belong. Zina (Amanda Schoonover), the director from out of town, encourages Casper to leave the small-minded small town to explore the world.

While the men undergo a full and admirable transformation into females, the women cross-dress, as well. Schoonover’s performance as “Casper” stands out — raw, effortless and natural.

The meta play seamlessly switches between monologues, the play itself, and the play within the play. As the rehearsal process of both plays evolves, so do the characters’ confidence, and then lines begin to blur: the blurring of plotlines, the blurring of physical space on stage, the blurring of art and life, the blurring of gender lines. Characters become permanently affected by the art, accidentally slipping in and out of their characters.

Jordan Harrison’s script vigorously paints gender as a social construct while boldly incorporating ridiculous comedy (death by an ascot is admittedly hilarious). It states that “you learn to act a lady,” which, in this small town, means that “your very existence fatigues you.”

So thank the Lord for experimental theater — otherwise these poor townsfolk would be utterly exhausted.

Through Nov. 20th, $15-$27, First Baptist Church, 1636 Sansom St., 215-563-1100, azukatheatre.org.

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