The Washington Post - 02.03.2020

MONDAy, MARCH 2 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST eZ re C3

BY CELIA WREN

Triscuits help fuel the spiritu-
ality of marian, the flaky matri-
arch in “Easy Women Smoking
Loose Cigarettes.” At one point in
this tonally jolting play, now
receiving its world premiere
from Signature Theatre, the
character watches a video by a
goddess-movement shaman. It’s
night, and marian is seeking
calm in a household filled with
needy, and even desperate, loved
ones. “We are working to lean in
to our Shakti,” the video intones.
Watching raptly, marian con-
sumes wine, ice cream and Tris-
cuits by turns.
Would that this dramedy, by
local playwright Dani Stoller,
could multitask as fluently. A tale
of a family grappling with crises
and mistakes, “Easy Women” of-
fers some real poignancy, as well
as moments of delectable humor
scattered amid more obvious
yuks. Its narrative whirs along
with well-made-play efficiency,
reflecting creditably on Stoller,
better known as an actress. And
director Stevie Zimmerman’s

sold-out production showcases

terrific performances, such as

Susan rome’s d roll, vivid marian.

But “Easy Women” encom-

passes a story of sex addiction

and a broken marriage, and

Stoller and Zimmerman have

not succeeded in making this

dark material seem part of a

continuum with the frothier

content. When the play veers

between comedy and serious-

ness, the effect is jarring. more-

over, in an ill-conceived choice,

semi-humorousness infuses a

key scene involving a seduction

so aggressive, and so lopsided in

its power dynamic, that it is

almost an assault.

These flaws are not attribut-

able to the acting. The perform-

ers, all boasting first-rate dra-

matic and comic timing, have no

trouble switching styles. rome

works mostly in comic mode as

the fussy motormouth marian,

who at one point cajoles her

entire household, male and fe-

male, to participate in a ritual

exploration of the Sacred Yoni.

The story of marian’s sex-addict

daughter Lee lurches between hu-

mor and intensity, but that’s not

the fault of Shanara Gabrielle,

who excels at both and plausibly

tempers spikiness with vulnera-

bility. reeling from her problems,

Lee seeks refuge at mom’s, where

she encounters the pregnant Kitty

(an ebullient Jordan Slattery),

niece to marian’s husband rich-

ard (John Leslie Wolfe, amusingly

mellow). Also on hand is the

Princeton-bound Bobby (John

Austin, hilariously tightly wound),

who has fled his own family’s

troubles.

The supporting characters

contribute funny moments and

valuable warmth. After Kitty

complains that her baby bump

makes it hard to shave her legs,

Bobby helps out. She sits on a

table, with a lollipop in her

mouth, while he gently wields

the razor. (meghan raham de-

signed the florida-townhouse

set, and Debra Kim Sivigny the

personality-appropriate cos-

tumes.)

In a more startling swerve

away from comedy, Lee at one

point exclaims, “I don’t know

what to do with all of this pain.”

You often don’t perceive that

anguish, due to the punchline

aesthetic — Triscuit references

and all — that extends around

her.

[email protected]

easy women Smoking Loose

Cigarettes by Dani stoller. Directed

by stevie Zimmerman; lighting

design, andrew Cissna; sound,

Kenny neal; intimacy coordinator,

Casey Kaleba. 110 minutes. this

show is sold out; returned tickets

could create availability. through

March 29 at signature theatre,

4200 Campbell ave., arlington. 70 3-

820-9771. sigtheatre.org.

tHeAter reVIew

‘Easy Women’: First-rate acting but too many startling swerves

CHrIstopHer Mueller/sIgnature tHeatre

shanara Gabrielle, left, and susan Rome excel as mother-daughter

duo Lee and Marian in “easy women smoking Loose Cigarettes.”

center of gravity toward a female

vantage. There were flashes of wit

(Elvira entering with a train of

literal baggage was a nice touch).

But the overall strategy was lean,

eschewing grandeur, setting up

the singers to succeed and then

getting out of their way.

And the singing and acting

were, o n the whole, very g ood. As

Donna Anna, Vanessa Vasquez

deployed a crystalline or steely

bite as the situation demanded,

with finely drawn phrasing: re-

fined wrath. Keri Alkema’s Don-

na Elvira took longer to warm up,

but once there, put out rich

sound edged with satin, a slight

haze of fantasy. Vanessa Becerra

was a bright, pert Zerlina; some-

times, pushing out volume, her

intonation would drift sharp,

but, when centered, her singing

had an appealing effervescence.

Alek Shrader, as ottavio,

seemed to be in suboptimal v oice,

shifting from easiness to tight

effort i n higher range, backing off

his top notes. Norman Garrett’s

masetto had fine-grained, dy-

namic tone and restrained pow-

er. Peter Volpe was appropriately

stern and stentorian as the Com-

mendatore. And the opera’s main

odd couple was estimable. A s the

Don, ryan mcKinny unspooled

smooth, stylish sound, a forceful

snarl lurking beneath a suave

veneer. And Kyle Ketelsen was a

scene- and show-stealing Lep-

orello: a gleaming, dynamic bari-

tone, a dexterous command of

the language and some punctili-

ous comedic timing.

Timing was an issue for WNo

principal conductor Evan rogis-

ter; though the orchestra made

balanced, polished sound, coor-

dination between players and

singers was often approximate.

But the cleanly drawn, direct

sense of storytelling, more effi-

cient than opulent, compensat-

ed. Ketelsen’s comic skills, espe-

cially, often pushed the show’s

knife-edge balance of horror and

farce in the latter direction, but

lurking tension propelled the

show like a coiled spring.

Publicity and program notes

explicitly r eferenced #meToo and

related movements. (“He’s spent

his life betraying women,” the

posters read. “Now time’s up.”)

But it was damning enough in-

dictment that meeker didn’t

need to underline the parallels.

This production’s particular

strength was revealing the Don’s

unrepentant amorality as only

the most obvious pathology. ot-

tavio’s self-centered impatience,

masetto’s jealousy and Leporel-

lo’s cynicism also victimize the

women; nevertheless, as in reali-

ty, it remains women’s work to

navigate, mitigate, placate. That

the story feels true to human

nature testifies to mozart and

Lorenzo da Ponte’s incisiveness.

That a straightforward interpre-

tation is, in 2020, effortlessly

timely? T hat’s on us.

[email protected]

Washington national opera’s “Don

giovanni,” with a running time of

approximately three hours, will be

performed intermittently through

March 22 at the Kennedy Center’s

opera House.

wno from C1

Mozart gets

a #MeToo

moment

from WNO

something that’s already been

done a shout-out.

At the end of his show, metallic

confetti rained down on the cars.

It wasn’t clear why. But blizzards

of confetti have been part of the

finale at other designers’ runway

shows. Abloh is part of the rental

economy in which nothing is

owned and everything is shared.

Everything is borrowed. No one

has a stake in anything. Nothing

sticks.

Abloh is a designer for our

time. Until suddenly, he is not.

[email protected]

runway, which was essentially a

large sports arena lit by lurid red

lights and studded with the

sawed halves of cars standing

upright like industrial age Stone-

henge.

fashion is all about borrowing,

referencing and reinventing. But

really good fashion does so in a

way that improves upon a preex-

isting idea by tweaking it to make

it utterly, perfectly right for a new

time. Truly marvelous fashion

transforms something familiar

into a revelation. Abloh doesn’t

reveal something anew; he gives

at all in the course of more than

two decades.

Abloh likes big tulle ballgowns

juxtaposed with technical sports-

wear and street gear. So he offers

half a fussy party dress over cam-

ouflage trousers, or a cropped

windcoat over a giant wedge of

tulle. He likes Hadids, of which

there were three on the runway:

Gigi, Bella and mama Yolanda.

Sometimes, instead of spindly

heels, models wore off-White for

Nike sneakers with their dangling

references to anti-theft devices.

That was the coolest thing on a

and Nike and Arc’teryx — along

with references to the Dutch label

Viktor & rolf and its use of mas-

sive silhouettes and To m ford’s

version of Gucci. Indeed, Abloh

sent down a white knit dress with

Swiss cheese cutouts and a gold

belt that was a direct homage to

ford’s s linky white jersey evening

gown with strategic peeks of skin,

which was, itself, an homage to

the work of Halston. It was even

worn by the same model, Carolyn

murphy, who should really bottle

whatever she’s drinking because

she does not appear to have aged

to the “Project runway” cliche
about fortunes shifting in a day.
fashion isn’t fickle; fashion sim-
ply puts an inordinate amount of
stock in fables.
Abloh is an intellectual grazer.
He’s constantly snacking on in-
spiration, offbeat ideas, iconic
creative gestures from historic
brands. The fall-winter 2020-
202 1 collection he put on the
runway Thursday evening at
fashion Week was a mix of Abloh

fasHIon weeK from C1

Abloh’s new collection fails to stick the landing

Jonas gustaVsson/MCV pHoto for tHe WasHIngton post

Virgil abloh’s fall-winter 20 20-2021 collection featured big tulle ballgowns juxtaposed with technical sportswear and street gear — and it lacked the designer’s usual vision.

MUSIC-ORCHESTRAL

Free tickets will be

distributed

beginning at 5pm in

the States Gallery,

two per person

Free

The Kennedy CenterTe rrace

Theater

2700 FStreet NW

Washington, DC 20566

http://www.apolloorchestra.com

The Apollo Orchestra welcomes world-renowned pianist

Peter Orth in an evening of works by Beethoven and

Respighi.

Thursday,March5at

6:00pm

The Apollo

Orchestra

With Peter Orth, piano

DANCE

Tickets

available

at the

Box Office

Kennedy Center

Eisenhower Theater

kennedy-center.org

or call (202) 467-4600

DamianWoetzel, former NYC Ballet Principal dancer turned

director,choreographer,and producer—and now president

of The JuilliardSchool—continues to bring together today’s

most creative voices in dance and music. For thisDEMO

performance, artists Robert Fairchild, Lauren Lovette, Roman

Mejia, MelissaToogood, Dario Natarelli, Lil Buck, Jon Boogz,

Brooklyn Rider,and Alberta Khoury join forces in an exciting

program of new collaborations!

Tonight at 8

"DEMO" by

DamianWoetzel:

NOW 2020

Tickets

available

at the

Box Office

Kennedy Center

Te rrace Theater

kennedy-center.org

or call (202) 467-4600

Conceived and directed by internationallyrenowned

Japanese visual artistTabaimo in collaboration with award-

winning choreographer Maki Morishita, this whimsical,

mischievous multimedia work is performed byasolo female

dancer and two on-stage musicians to an original scoreby

YusukeAwazu and KeisukeTanaka.

Tomorrow at 7:30

"Fruits borne

out of rust" by

Ta baimo and

Maki Morishita

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