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THE QUICK- CHANGE ROOM:
Scenes from a revolution
by Nagle Jackson
From Left [Sitting]: Susan Thoms, Juliann Buhler, Stephen Daly, Anastasia Poliakis, Jeff Cooper
[Standing]: Sheila Doyle, Michael Mager, Lillian Lynch-McLeod, Chuck HeinrichLIMITED ENGAGEMENT -November 19 - December 19, 1999
Comedy has cautionary message
By Sherman Spencer
Special to The Record
[Originally published Sunday, November 21, 1999]The Gorbachev restructuring of Soviet society has proved a mixed blessing to the Russian people, particularly the artistic community. Nagle Jackson's wry comedy "The Quick-Change Room," at Sonora's Stage 3 Theatre, provides a very amusing but thought-provoking observation on the extent of these consequences.
The quick-change room in a St. Petersburg theater, the small backstage room where dressers provide the fast costume changes necessary during a play's action, serves as a microcosm for the "quick changes" in the economic, moral and philosophical concepts brought about by the downfall of Russia's monolithic communism.
Heavily subsidized both by the czarist regimes and the communists, the fine arts in Russia suddenly lost both this support and -- through inflation -- the advantage of inexpensive tickets. This comedy is about how they try to survive.
At first, the many short vignettes seem unnecessarily episodic, but you soon realize that each scene reveals a different finely etched aspect of the characters and their dilemma. These people
must either abandon their principles or perish. The classic repertory of the theater must give way to the trendy and commercialized westernized tradition.
Marya Stepanova, superbly played by Susan Thoms, is the aging head of the quick-change room. She is also, by extension, the soul of the Russian people, totally disrupted by the changes but accepting the inevitable and reluctantly adjusting to it.
Her daughter, Nina (Anastasia Polakis), a budding actress in the troupe, can easily shift her loyalties as a means of advancement. Through Polakis' interpretation, we see some pragmatic virtues in her actions in spite of her youthful selfishness and insensitivity.
The cautionary aspect of the comedy is exemplified by Boris (Mitch Hrdlicka). He represents the triumph of the bureaucrat -- whatever the regime. From his original post in the ticket office -- and aided by his ability to barter Nike shoes and Hustler magazines for needed costume wigs -- he gradually takes over control of the theater. Though clearly the villain of the piece, as persuasively played by Hrdlicka, we recognize his successful counterpart in our own entertainment fields. As he says, "We don't need great men; we need clever men."
Sheila Doyle as an actress past her prime and Stephen Daly as the deposed theater director are amusing as quaint relics of the past and admirable for their refusal to sacrifice their integrity.
All 10 cast members are excellent both in their individual portrayals and in their ensemble acting. The perceptive direction of Barbara Segal-Mill is evident everywhere. Gail Russell's costumes, a most important aspect of the quick-change room, are just right. Michelle Adair's choreography for the finale is a hoot, and Ron Madonia's set and light design add considerably to the production.
This is a wise and witty comedy with a finale both poignant and hilarious. The humor throughout is tempered by several implicit statements. One is that commercialism is now in control of the arts. And as a corollary, in the commercial marketplace, the crass and trendy will triumph over the substantive and truly artistic. The final and seemingly irrevocable truism is that some form of unimaginative bureaucracy will always be in charge -- a dismal prospect indeed.
- Sherman Spencer
