A Sneak Peek at Love, Loss, and What I Wore

Babette Bilger, Patti Speight, Yelena King, Leslie Inmon, Emily Smith, 
Eleanor Amorós, Leilani Oleari.
Picture by Nicole Mae Photography

 
By Tina Arth

Since Mask&Mirror’s latest “Unmasked” production has only a two-week run, I was happy to attend a fully staged rehearsal three days before the show’s actual opening. The performers were, of course, at a bit of a disadvantage – not only were they missing out on some extra rehearsal time, but the space at the Tualatin Heritage Center was partly full of detritus from another program. Despite these handicaps, the 7-woman cast pulled it off nicely – doing Director Linda Morris Talluto proud and drawing an impressive number of laughs (and a few tears) from the tiny preview audience.

The play by Nora and Delia Ephron is based on Ilene Beckerman’s 1995 book.  The 7-woman, rotating cast delivers a series of monologues, a few small group scenes, and some full-ensemble work, with at most minimal staging. The material is organized superficially around the women’s relationship with clothing through their lives, using their wardrobes as a medium to explore significant moments of comedy, tragedy, and ennui in their lives – prom, first period, weddings, funerals, illness, death, pushy moms, aging bodies, even rape. While it may be seen as a “women’s show” and is immediately relatable for practically any American woman born in the 20^th century, it should not take long for the men in the audience to key into the show’s themes and emotional impact.

A more conventional play would invite comments on costumes (really none, other than a few props and an array of clothing items displayed around the stage), sets (again – basically nothing – just 7 chairs for the 7 women, plus a flipchart where one of the actors draws a picture). The original Broadway production utilized only 5 women, and it was done as true reader’s theatre – actors perched on stools and read from scripts on music stands.  With the likes of Christine Baransky and Mia Farrow in the cast, I’m sure this was fine, but I really appreciate the director’s decision to lose the scripts and let her cast really act. We also get sound and lighting – brief clips of several thoroughly recognizable pop songs introduce some of the monologues, and crude but evocative line drawings of a variety of outfits are projected onto a screen in back of the actors. Blocking is also minimal - the actors generally address the audience rather than interacting with each other, and there are a few occasions where one of the women comes down the steps and approaches the audience directly.  All of this adds up to 90 fast-moving minutes of truly moving theater, and is not to be missed.

With 28 separate scenes/monologues, each cast member has ample opportunities to shine, and for the most part they do.  Babette Bilger plays just one (repeated) role, as Gingy, and the rest of the segments are performed by Eleanor Amorós, Leslie Inmon, Yelena King, Leilani Oleari, Emily Smith, and Patti Speight.  The actors make rapid-fire transitions from one character to the next as they jump from scene to scene. My favorites include some small group and ensemble numbers, including a few of the “Clotheslines” where 6 actors riff on the same theme.  Watch for “Holly’s Story,” “Boots,” “Fat/Thin,” “I Hate My Purse,” “Geralyn’s Story,”– heck, just watch everything and enjoy the many moments where you recognize yourself, family, friends and lovers!

This is not a show that is likely to be seen again in the area for a while, and the venue is tiny at the Tualatin Heritage Center, which seats only ~ 50 people. My advice? Buy tickets early (I’ve already reserved two so I can go back with a friend to see the closing performance – I’m eager to see how the show will have grown since the preview).

Mask&Mirror’s production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore runs through Sunday, February 2 at the Tualatin Heritage Center, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2:30.