Boring characters, melodrama give School of Music's 'Ladyhouse' the blues

The University Production's presentation of "Ladyhouse Blues" made a strong effort to translate a relatively stagnant script into a lively exhibition of the female spirit.

REVIEW
	Ladyhouse Blues Nov. 20, 1997 Mendelssohn Theater

What the show lacked in storyline it made up for in character; but in the end, it felt as if the whole production was trying just a little too hard to keep the audience interested and the characters accessible.

The emotional aspects of the dialogue also left a lot of room for over-statement and exaggerated action. Keeping a show that has no true action interesting is never an easy task, but the cast of "Ladyhouse Blues" seemed to try to fill up the two hours of dialogue with emotional strain and extreme states of mind that didn't feel like they belonged to the original plot.

Taking place in St. Louis in 1919, the play's action is confined to a kitchen brimming with grown daughters who've come home to reside under the wings of a protective mother.

The house, and show, are utterly devoid of men after the only brother has left to serve a term in the Navy.

The dominant mother figure and her flock of daughters float through the action of the play, displaying their personal grief like badges of courage, generally making each other miserable. The audience is meant to see that each woman's strengths are just as prevalent as her weaknesses. The family structure keeps each woman going.

"Ladyhouse Blues" failed to inspire the crowd at Mendelssohn Theater.

The purpose of the play is to show how difficult it is to be a woman in any stage of life within a changing world.

The transitions defined by the changing mores of womanhood are displayed as impossible to adopt - for the steadfast mother who makes a life out of dwelling in the past.

Meanwhile, the modernization of the times slowly seeps into the mother's house through the veins of her young daughters, as they experiment with breaking boundaries and explore the new roles a woman is allowed to portray in the world.

Each actress seemed to have a strong grasp of her character, but for a play based on the family dynamic, the cast seemed to lack cohesiveness.

All the characters spoke in thick Southern accents. Although the accents functioned well to develop character, they made the dialogue a little tough to understand.

The staging worked well to allow each character's flow of action its own development and space - but maybe a little too well - because it felt as if each character were personally withdrawing and focusing on herself rather than the action going on around her.

The strong presence and control brought to the character of Terry (Sophia Brown) made her courage and independence seem natural and without constraint.

Terry becomes a centerpiece by which the audience is able to gauge the true severity of any action. The intelligence displayed in her eyes became a focal point to which the audience was drawn again and again.

Helen (Amanda Miller) presented a convincing picture of despair and impending death. Wandering about the stage like the shadow of death itself, Helen's seeming omnipresent despair gave the staging depth and flavor.

Angela Lewis as Eylie, Dana Dancho as Dot and Gabrielle Brechner as Liz rounded out the cast, each making her character expressive, yet a tad melodramatic.

Still, each character was individually well portrayed. If only the characters could have connected with each other on the stage the way they did with the audience, the familial themes of the play would have come off a lot stronger.

The difficulties of a show with a single setting and minimal action are all too apparent. The script seemed to call for a more low-key examination of female dynamics in a changing world.

The whirlwind of emotions displayed in the University production made the audience feel as if they had just spent two hours visiting with a pack of Southern women with cabin fever and quick fuses.

11-24-97