Timing is essential in politics and comedy—or so they say. And In Tandem Theatre is benefiting from a well-timed production of a political satire from the 1990s. Rich Orloff’s Veronica’s Position takes us back to the days of Robert Mapplethorpe and the NEA Four, when public funding of “obscene” art was dividing red and blue states before they were even known as such. Part of that controversy, of course, was centered on the homosexual photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe, and the story of Orloff’s play hinges on some basic questions of gay rights and equality. Opening just before President Obama’s comments on gay marriage, Veronica’s Position reminds us just how far we’ve come, and just how far we still have to go.
But it does so with a great deal of splash and biting humor. As inspiration for the play, Orloff mashes together several events from the late 1980s, including the NEA controversy, where conservatives in Congress used Mapplethorpe and others to justify the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, and also the disastrous production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives that brought Richard Burton and Elizabeth back to the Broadway stage. Since Taylor was also starting a romance with a senator at the time—John Warner–it all fits together nicely (though Warner was actually a supporter of the NEA).
And director Jane Flieller finds the perfect pieces for this puzzle—namely some great actors who take their roles beyond the play’s obvious comedy. Richard Ganoung plays Philip (the Burton character) with the exaggerated movie star flair of a John Barrymore, and his acting partner (the Veronica of the title), played by Tiffany Vance, matches him quip for quip. Steve Koehler plays the senator with just the right amount of political gravitas and ambition—he’s actually quite persuasive and sensible when crafting his response to the “obscene” photographs, which makes his undoing at the plays end all the more devastating. Libby Amato is right on as the ambitious young director with a flair for tight fitting skirts, and Joe Fransee plays the Mapplethorpe character with an impish delight in the transgressive. But the standout here is T. Stacy Hicks, playing Veronica’s personal assistant, Alan. Orloff doesn’t give this character a chance to talk much about his back story—he’s recently lost a lover to AIDS—but Hicks finds a way to create deep pathos as we watch him struggle with new love. He’s also got some of the play’s best punchlines, and Hicks delivers them with perfect timing.
Photo: T. Stacy Hicks and Tiffany Vance.
Photo by Mark Frohna
*****
I’ve already written about the Milwaukee Ballet’s smashing success, Peter Pan, which returned this weekend with many of the original star players from it’s original 2010 production (Marc Petrocci as Pan, Luz San Miguel as Tinkerbell and David Hovhannisyan as Captain Hook). There is no sign of staleness or atrophy on its return. On the contrary, it seemed even more infectiously charming the second time around. Perhaps that’s because the now familiar but still spectacular aerial effects don’t overwhelm the other elements of Michael Pink’s choreography and storytelling. The lovely duet between Hovhannisyan (playing the father, George Darling) and Rachel Malehorn, a beautiful expression of durable but tender married love. The panache of the pirate ensemble delivering a Yo-Ho-Ho celebration of anticipated victory. And the skillful pantomime-storytelling of both chaotic home live and adventurous danger among the Lost Boys.
This time, I was accompanied by my seven-year-old niece Susan, who didn’t once yawn (even though the story took her well past her bedtime). She is no stranger to airborne Brits, having seen Mary Poppins in its latest Broadway incarnation. But she was much more impressed with Pan and the Darlings, because they flew without wires (Mary Poppins had a rope around her waist, she says). Her favorite character was Peter Pan, of course. Her second favorite was Wendy Darling, who looked just like Liesl from The Sound of Music. When I mentioned that I kind of liked Captain Hook, all she could say was, “Seriously?! Sheesh!” Even more to the Ballet’s credit, my other companion was my 14-year-old son, who attended under slight duress. But he complained not once, even though he was missing his chance to see The Avengers by joining us. Peter Pan, of course, is all about believing. And when you can make people “believe” (and take pleasure in music and dance) without the benefits of Hollywood CGI, you know you’re doing something right.
