Women or Nothing - Ethan Coen

On Saturday, I went to see Ethan Coen's play, Women or Nothing playing at Atlantic Theater Company, Linda Gross Theater. The play is about a lesbian couple who decide they want a child so desperately that they will pick a co-worker to sleep with to make it happen. The writing is quick and funny and at times it made me laugh so hard that I could hardly hear the next lines. Some of the monologues went too long but for the most part they held their own.

Now as far as the story arc is concerned, that's a little more problematic for me. I don't think the story needed the mother to come into the mix.  Although Deborah Rush as Dorene was funny...I almost think Chuck's revelations (played by Robert Beitzel) could have been confessed to Laura the morning after.  It would have created a powerful intimate moment. And the revelation could have had more of a payoff because of the high expectations set up in the beginning. The stakes could even have been raised if part of the revelation was that Chuck had a vasectomy. If Coen had used that tactic, then the blow out between Laura (played by Susan Pourfar) and Gretchen (played by Halley Feiffer) could have been phenomenal. It would have given the audience a little more scope to their relationship perhaps seeing the cracks created by their decision.  All this analysis after the fact is just another possibility. My writer's brain hardly ever turns off so the critique is based on the love of the craft.

Susan Pourfar as Laura definitely played the part of high-strung creative.  At times, the affected accent was bit distracting but Pourfar's portrayal of Laura made her, by far, my favorite character. Robert Bietzel as Chuck was really well done.  I just wish he had more lines during his scene with Laura. However, his scene with Dorene was so nuanced and vulnerable that I really enjoyed his performance. Halley Feiffer as Gretchen was my least favorite character.  In her case, I think it had more to do with the way the character was written than with her acting. She seemed to be the least developed character.

My last kudos goes to set designer Michele Spadaro who created an apartment that I wanted to move into.  Women or Nothing plays until October 6th, definitely worth checking out if you're in New York City.

Peace,

Lily~

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