By: Julian Bonner
The premise of this play is simple. An apparent ingenue (she is by no means innocent or unsophisticated as you will find out!) scams her way into the theater world and then by shameless, manipulative but beautifully deceitful means, treads on everyone she needs to to become a star in her own right.
The play is around 3 hours long but seems much shorter as the characters develop with incredible sophistication and keep you engaged and engrossed for the whole time.
The set design and lighting work extremely well but what makes this show so engrossing is the remarkable performances of a wonderful ensemble that Director, Deb Takes, has assembled. (And full confession, I have been fortunate enough to share the stage with half of this cast!)
Allison Deratzian (Karen) was born to play the playwright's wife (and indeed was apparently slated to take this part in Spring 2020 when...well, you know what happened!). She opens the play and creates a character both sympathetic and unscrupulous with a subtleness that is superb.
The always excellent Aaron Wexler (Lloyd) plays against his wife Karen, with the perfect combination of support and animosity as he is led down a path of his own making.
Marianne Dell’Aquila (Margo) is wonderful as the "mature", experienced, egotistic star, whose light starts to dim as Eve shines brighter and brighter. One of her best performances in my humble opinion.
Thomas Rush (Clement) provides a perfect foil for Eve, cynical and wary of her motivation from the very beginning, but who is dragged along by the momentum that she generates.
Additional support comes from the excellent Michael Romito (Thompson), the critic who catapults Eve to stardom; Cheryl Brubaker (Leila) the very put upon dresser who loses her position only to be reinstated ungraciously; Allie Hughes (Vera) who is, like her character, someone to watch out for in the future with a beautifully nuanced performance; Geary Gorup (Hinkle), the slimy agent; and Brad Briddes (Harvey) the spurned Stage Manager.
However, the true star of the show in every aspect is the incomparable Liz Aber (Eve), whose trajectory from "innocent" fan to "super stardom" is utterly magnificent in every aspect. She commands the stage in every scene and is able to turn on a dime from jilted understudy to unprincipled, determined, ambitious, aspiring actress. Truly an incredible performance.
You only have 3 more opportunities to see The Wisdom of Eve ( Friday 7 & Saturday 8 June at 8pm, and Sunday 9 June at 2pm) and you MUST, MUST, MUST see this play otherwise you are not very wise at all!
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