Easily The Biggest Piece Of Crap This Theater Season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     Girls, until now, I have only had two theater experiences I count as the worst.  The first was back in the eighties or nineties and was a musical friends of mine were working on called "Buskers,' about street performers.   In the cast was Tony Azito--I couldn't believe he was in it--and Martin Charnin's daughter, Sasha.  After seeing this show, Charnin bought out his daughter's contract and pulled her out of the production.

                                         Then there was "Sex And Longing," with a script by Christopher Durang, and a star turn by Sigourney Weaver.  I am sure she did this travesty as a favor to Durang, and, having seen it, all I can say is, boy, he owes her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  All I can recall from this mess were actors screaming the titular words.

                                           But now, along comes "Ode To The Wasp Woman," starring of all people, Sean Young. Now will those past the Boomer age even know who she is?  The only movie I ever saw her in was 1991's "A Kiss Before Dying," with Matt Dillon, and while she was pretty enough and read her lines well, she was no Meryl Streep.  And while still retaining some of that prettiness today, she looks bloated and blowzy, which is perfect for her playing the role of actress Susan Cabot, who scored her biggest hit in 1959's "The Wasp Woman," directed by Roger Corman.  I watched it on Monday, and believe me, the movie is better than this play.

                                            One sign of a bad play is when the director is the author.  That is the case here.  The playwright, Rider McDowell, actually had a good idea--he wanted to examine the failures of four Hollywood performers--Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Susan Cabot, George Reeves (Yes, "Superman!") and Barbara Payton.  The problem was he did not know how to blend these stories together cohesively.  The piece should have come off like Sondheim's Assassins," but, as a director he was unable to blend things together.  All one gets are vignettes about these actors' tragic endings, and how fame does not solve problems.  Duh.  I know that by now.  Some scenes are distasteful to watch--like when Barbara Payton is suggestively being sexually abused by her father.  Others are so badly lit, especially when the performers are upstage, one can barely see them.  It is like watching a shadow show.

                                                As if this were not enough, each actor gets their own song, but why country and western tunes were chosen is beyond me.  Was the director trying to go Robert Altman, or something? He lacks the talent for such a concept.  Payton Georgiana fares best in the song department, as Barbara Payton, delivering a truly professional rendition of "Help Me Make It Through The Night."

                                                  Sean Young neither adds nor detracts from the production.  She hits her marks, says her lines, but in no way does she stand out.  Anyone could have been cast in her role.

                                                     Let's face it.  If the farthest this play got was The Actors Temple, it has not much of a future.  Don't expect it to move, around the corner, on Broadway!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

                                                       Still, I would recommend it for this sake.  Experiencing art should require those to experience at least one piece of crap in their lives.  This show is just perfect for that!

                                                        With books, it is Shirley Conran's "Lace."  What a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!