Backstage @ New Rep

New Rep New Show Great Fun

Large, overstuffed couches greet theatre goers in the fantastic set of New Reps's area premiere of a brand new play, Rancho Mirage.  (Ridiculous locale names become the topic of a later monologue.) But "mirage" is the perfect descriptor, as it turns out; nothing is as it seems at the start of the play.  The couches become audience to one revelation after another, as the tangle of lies and half-truths holding together various relationships is unwound.

The performances and technical infrastructure of New Rep plays are consistently very high quality.  This show is no exception, although some of the characters feel more real than others. (Whether this is an artifact of the acting or the writing is difficult to say.)  Returning New Rep star Robert Pemberton as Trevor is stunning (and sews a mean pair of pants), and we loved the odd quirkiness of John Kooi and Cate Damon as Charlie and Pam(my).  Newcomer to New Rep Abigail Kileen (as Louise) really holds the show together and is perfectly loud-mouthed, honest, irreverent, and blousy -- although the script speaks of a hypersexuality that is not apparent in the character.

The play, ultimately, is a fun night out.  The script is often laugh-out-loud funny, and director Robert Walsh makes the most of the jokes and set-ups.  The danger with this kind of work, which exposes the ugly underbelly of many of the characters and relationships, is that the audience may not like any of the characters enough to care what happens next.  Some of that feeling comes in here, although the actors do a heroic job in making the characters as like able as possible despite their (many) faults.

~ Shauna Shames, New Rep Reviewer