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| Fey Devro, August Wygal, Alicia Turvin, Jenny Tien, and Brit Eagan |
There is a lot to like about Twilight Theater Company’s current production, 5 Lesbians Eating a
Quiche – the comic chops of the five actors, the careful fidelity of the set, costumes, and
makeup to the show’s time and place, some fun special effects with both lighting and sound,
and director Jeremy Abe’s attention to his cast’s blocking, delivery, timing, and pacing. Can you
feel a “but” coming? Here it is: I really am not thrilled with the script. I know it’s not fair to
expect a lot of depth from any farce, even with a topic as deliciously dark as this one, but 5
Lesbians feels more like a super-sized The Kids in the Hall sketch than a fully realized, two-act
comedy.
Playwrights Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood begin with a premise ripe for exploration and
exploitation – it’s the annual Quiche Breakfast of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of
Gertrude Stein (just in case the title didn’t cue us in on the lesbian angle?). The entire audience
is made part of the club – we have been randomly issued name tags giving us overtly female
identities before we enter the theater, and the cast frequently alludes to our presence as
society members. The five lesbians referred to in the title are, of course, the five actors on a
stage that represents a middle-American community center basement/bomb shelter at the
height of Red scare paranoia in 1956. These are Officially Good Christian Women who are either
heavily closeted or truly unaware that they are lesbians, despite their overt disgust with all
things male and frenetic devotion to all things egg-related. There are definitely lots of laughs,
drawn in large part by fine physical comedy, but by the end of a very brief Act I most of the core
jokes have been trotted out (for the first time, at least).
That said, it’s a fun show to watch - - just keep your literary expectations low and immerse
yourself in the performances. Jenny Tien (“Ginny”) sports a wonderful accent, her
pronunciation of “quiche” is captivatingly inept, and her full-throated/utensil-free attack on the
winning quiche is worth the price of admission. August Wygal (“Dale”) goes from peppy
photographer to trauma-laden hysteric in a smooth arc, and her final incarnation as athletic
hero is oddly hilarious – as is her demise. The real power in the Susan B. Anthony Society is held
by Lulie (the president, played with admirable ferocity by Alicia Turvin), Wren (Brit Eagan, a
twittering dynamo of an events chair), and the overtly butch Vern (Fey Devro), facilities
manager/construction guru who takes no crap from anybody. Each of these power players
helps to drive the utterly implausible script, laden with PBOT-sized plot holes, to the show’s
appropriately illogical conclusion.
From the abundant laughter on opening night, it was clear that the audience was amply
entertained, and sometimes that’s all that’s required. If you need some laughs and a light
evening out (as we all occasionally do) then I definitely recommend 5 Lesbians…just be
prepared for a theatrical snack rather than a hearty meal!
5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is playing at Twilight’s Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon
Avenue, Portland, through February 5 th with performances at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday and
3 pm on Sunday. There is an additional 8 pm performance on Thursday, February 2 nd .
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