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A CurtainUp Review
A Raw Space
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'Simple, warm, effortless.' How the hell can I compete?—
Architect Rod Menin
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Jack Koenig and Madi Distefano
in A Raw Space (Photo credit: BRT Staff) |
An architect’s wealthy wife sets up a competition between her husband and another architect who is married to her former friend. She challenges the men to come up with an apartment design that’s simple, warm and effortless. These are qualities that this complicated, cold and labored play could surely use.
While its predecessors, Old Wicked Songs and The Temperamentals, had much to recommend them, A Raw Space is a mostly nasty little piece. It’s hard to warm up to these characters, and the few parts that are meant to make them more appealing come off as plot contrivances.
A clever twist on point-of-view comes at the cost of a long time spent on a real-time replay. Two scenes often occupy the same space at the same time. A useful tactic when there’s too little to do on stage in each discrete scene, it looks gratuitous. And while the very attractive and well executed set design is the star of this show, it’s odd when a projected vast city view from the large apartment window randomly appears and disappears.
The underlying analogy, "the elegant interplay between architectural design and the architecture of a marriage": is not left intriguingly tacit. In fact, the idea that what’s left unsaid can speak as loudly as what’s verbalized gets no play here. Rather, the subtextual armature is laid out in detail, like in a soap opera, in case anyone misses the parallels.
Finally, this structure implodes as the actors fail to click. Keith Baker’s mannered acting style doesn’t work with Anette Michelle Sanders’ attempt at a more naturalistic approach to her role as his indulged bossy wife. Not much can be done with the cumbersome dialogue that Madi Distefano as the not-friend, and Jack Koenig as Rod, the hot competing architect have to handle. .
Although I’d like to pull some punches for BRT, I can’t say this play succeeds at being witty, cathartic, or effective. A Raw Space needs to go back to the drafting table.
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A Raw Space by Jon Marans
Directed by Susan Atkinson Cast: Keith Baker, Madi Distefano, Jack Koenig, Anette Michelle Sanders Scenic Design: roman Tatarowicz Lighting Design: Ryan O’Gara Costume Design: Linda Bee Stockton Sound Design: Adam Orseck Jan 31- Feb 19, Opening Feb 2, 2012 90 minutes with one 15 minute intermission Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund based on 02/02 performance. Bristol Riverside Theatre, Radcliffe St. Bristol, PA > |
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