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A CurtainUp New Jersey Review
Bakersfield Mist
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"I gotta thank you. Taking my case. Flying all the way out here. Such an important, busy man. You must have better things to do." — Maude "You have no idea." — Lionel |
Linda S. Nelson and John FitzGibbon
(Photo: SuzAnne Barabas) |
Obligated to appraise the painting, Lionel is invited into Maude’s cluttered living room (a work of cheesy artistrty created by designer Jessica Parks) only to believe after meeting her and looking at her collection of objects d’art that it is Maude who is more off-the-wall than the painting she wants him to validate as a genuine Jackson Pollock. It is clear that Maude has no taste for or knowledge of fine art. Yet, in a moment of folly she purchased what she considered to be a rather ugly painting for three dollars at a backyard sale as a joke on a friend.
Evidently spurred on by the opinion of a local art teacher, Maude now has hopes that the painting might be worth lots of money. She is depending on its authentication to change her life that is currently drowning in a sea of Jack Daniels.
As robustly played by Linda S. Nelson, the determined Maude is certainly no fool and is able to prove herself more than a match for the doubtful and demeaning expert. Lionel is marvelous played by John Fitzgibbon with an air of haughty condescension that goes a long way to make him the perfect target for the determined Maude. Their caustic interaction is a fine example of how two excellent, well-cast actors are able to spar, bait and tackle (literally) each other and also deliver two individually high-stakes performances.
Although the play is largely a verbal contest between a dismissive know-it-all and a desperate go-getter, it does segue into some very physical encounters .It quickly begins to delve deeper into the personal and private issues and losses that have brought Maude and Lionel to this juncture in their lives.
What is most delightful about their contentious battling is how many surprises arise as Lionel’s expertise and background in his specialized field is challenged again and again by the no-holds-barred, standing firm resolve that is Maude’s forum and her strength. Lionel won’t even allow himself to consider the possibility that a genuine Pollock could ever find its way into this woman’s home. With his supercilious smugness plastered on his face, Lionel is as determined to prove it a fake as the insistent Maude is to prove it the real thing — with her own evidence.
What also makes Bakersfield Mist so astute is how a potential work of art is used as the vehicle by which two people who couldn’t be more different break through the barriers of class consciousness, intellectual prowess, and emotional pain. The laugh quotient is high. Half comes from Maude’s combustible personality; half from the repressed nature of a teetotaler, soon to be unwittingly lured off the wagon. If Lionel’s rigidity has been his fortress in the face of Maude's onslaught, he also captures our hearts as he delivers an increasingly wacky, almost spaced-out soliloquy about his first rapturous contact with a work of art. You could say that Maude has the viewers on her side as they see how she artfully and calculatingly breaks down Lionel’s defenses and at the same time poignantly begins to break down herself.
This stringently funny play is laced with a snappy balance of down-to-earth and highfalutin dialogue, and buoyed by an undercurrent of bitter irony, a not-so-bad combination. Under the crackling direction of SuzAnne Barabas, it should create the kind of enthusiastic word-of-mouth that will keep the seats at the New Jersey Repertory Company filled for the entire engagement where Bakersfield Mist is having its world premiere as part of the National New Play Network
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Bakersfield Mist By Stephen Sachs Directed by SuzAnne Barabas Cast: John Fitzgibbon (Lionel Percy), Linda S. Nelson (Maude Gutman) Scenic Design & Properties: Jessica Parks Costume Design: Patricia E. Doherty Lighting Design: Jill Nagle Sound Design: Merek Royce Press Fight Director: Brad Lemons Running Time: 1 hour 20 minutes no intermission New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway, Long Branch, N.J. (732) 229 – 3166 Tickets: $40 - $35 Performances: Thursdays, Fridays 8 PM; Saturdays 3 PM & 8 PM; Sundays 2 PM. From: 12/01/11 Opening: 12/03/11 Closing: 01/22/12 Review by Simon Saltzman based on performance 12/03/11 |
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