‘Mrs. Loman Is Leaving’ – Two Plays in Search of Each Other

 

R. Hamilton Wright and Alexandra Tavares (by Rosemary Dai Ross)

Mrs. Loman Is Leaving
ACT Theatre
Through October 27, 2024
 
Humor is very idiosyncratic. There are probably as many funny-bones out there as individual snowflakes. The world premiere play at ACT Theatre, Mrs. Loman Is Leaving, is a comedy lynch-pinned to the drama, Death of a Salesman, played for laughs. It’s a backstage show on opening night of a play that is critical to all of the characters’ lives and they are desperate for good reviews.
 
This play’s title brings to mind the updated treatment of A Doll’s House, with A Doll’s House, Part 2, where playwright Hnath updates a classic play with a sequel. However, that’s not what this play accomplishes.
 
The production is full of talent; the actors, led by Alexandra Tavares, including R. Hamilton Wright, Nathaniel Tenenbaum, Jonelle Jordan, and Shaunyce Omar, have provided our stages with stunningly great performances, each. Julie Beckman is an accomplished director. Despite their efforts, playwright Katie Forgette’s play fails to gel cohesively.
 
For me, there were a few funny lines, and your experience might well be quite different, because many audience members seemed quite delighted by the humor. Humor should at least partly come out of the circumstances, and the press info on this production gave the impression that it was closely tied to the play-within-the-play, Death of a Salesman, and a wish to resurrect Linda Loman, the long-suffering wife of Willie Loman, in that play. But the connection to that play is so tenuous that none of it rings true.
 
It's opening night, and Joanne (Tavares) has been away from theater for a lifetime, and is eager to prove she’s still got it. George (Wright) is an older actor who seems to have lost much of his ability to learn his lines and is eager to prove he’s still got it. Sam, the director, has had some very bad publicity and has had his directing opportunities dry up and is eager to prove he’s still got it. Almost the entire play is set backstage.
 
Much of the humor is tied to concern over George’s memory or to stage manager Penny’s (Jordan) youth and lack of knowledge of ancient name-checking like Don Rickles and Johnny Carson. The pace is fast and furious, suiting a comedy. But connection to the fact that they are performing the classic Death of a Salesman seems hard to find.
 
If the commentary on Linda Loman is meant by demonstrating that Joanne mirrors Linda’s stoic or meek personality, the casting of the funny and stalwart Tavares steers far away from that. The early subplot that Joanne’s husband is cheating on her may be a reflection on Linda’s plight with Willie. But Joanne’s meltdown and subsequent desire not to go on stage doesn’t gel here, either. So, there is not much arc to this character and few stakes or changes lead to some satisfying outcome by the end.
 
Aside from a few feminist moments of dialogue, we don’t learn anything new. In fact, if you don’t already know a good deal about DOAS already, you might be very confused, and unenlightened by the end.
 
The script seems to want to be either slapstick or farce, but doesn’t succeed at either. Part of that is because of choices that do not seem earned and an ending that truly rides off the rails of incredulity. If you like comedies because they beguile you and help you not think deep thoughts, this might well be your deal. Otherwise, the payoff feels cheap and simply silly. I’d love to see a script that really goes after the meat of Linda Loman’s plight and doesn’t feel like whipped cream plopped on a sturdy white tabletop and called a cake.
 
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