Hair Styling With 'Nobody's You'

THEATER Nobody's You

written and directed by Margaret Roberts

at the Leverret Old Library

March 10-11, 17-18

Student-written theater has all the advantages and disadvantages of unbridled freedom. Unfettered by endless revision and polishing, or years of play-writing experience and performance before live audiences, new student-written plays are often messy, but sometimes transcendent in their rawness. Nobody's You, a new play by Margaret Roberts, manages to be neither and is the better for it.

Set in a tony suburb of Dallas, Nobody's You aspires to nothing beyond frivolous entertainment: a bit of comedy here, a bit of romance there, all mediated by the Southern accents and smooth dialogue of Roberts' script. The production is by no means flawless, and the plot smacks of TV sitcoms, but both are solid enough to carry the audience through the myriad gags and delectable characters that make up the meat and fluffy potatoes of the show.

The plot is a suitably original variation of the romantic-situation comedy. The Las Colinas hair salon is abuzz with preparations for the social event of the year--the evening's debutante cotillion. Aspiring deb SuzyBelle Mallard (Erin Delaney) arrives in a state of crisis, her hair dyed blue by a foreign hair dresser. SuzyBelle's rebellious and cynical sister Clair (Silje Normand)--a misplaced British feminist in rural Texas--shows up with their grandmother Barbara (Liz Amberg), who seems to want to have her hair done, despite being in a state of dysfunction somewhere between stroke and delerium tremens. Down-to-earth beauticians Jody (Christine Genaitis) and Karin Littleton (Bronwen Cowan) preside over the madness with wry amusement.

Meanwhile, the romantic element asserts itself in the form of Jack Dale (Steve Raizes), Karin's long-lost high school sweetheart. After 15 years, Jack returns to Las Colinas with his soon-to-be third wife, Virginia (Jenni Paredes), a suitably annoying blonde Southern bimbo archetype. Jack has promised to take Virginia to the cotillion that evening and to announce their engagement at a luncheon the next day. His highpowered corporate boss, a forceful cellular presence, seems to have other plans.

Lacking the guts to say no to his boss or break the bad news to Virginia, Jack asks for Karin's help. He has to skip the cotillion, get to California for a business meeting, and return in time for the luncheon the next day, all without Virginia's knowledge. In spite of herself, Karin has Virginia out cold within minutes. Grandmother Mallard, imbibing nearly half a bottle of Scotch between her shampoo and set, passes on to a better world. With two bodies and two deep breaths, the action is rolling.

Though the plot is fairly conventional and sometimes contrived, Roberts' script is a well-written and coherent student effort. She has a good ear for dialogue, and a sharp sense of humor that hits more often than it misses. Nobody's You is her second script produced at Harvard (her first, Hell On A Platter, appeared in the Loeb Ex last spring), and it shows a marked improvement in writing, content, and humor.

This time around, Roberts decided to direct her own script (Andrew Ehrlich, the director of Hell On A Platter, served as Assistant Director for this production); the choice was a good one. Writers often run into trouble directing their own plays. Their personal involvement with the script can get in the way of confronting the directing experience on its own terms. Whether or not Roberts ran into this problem, her presence is positively felt in the performances of her actors. A show so heavily dependent on its colorful characters begs for the writer's input to fill in what is not written on the page.

Nobody's You's acting is competent, with a few real stand-outs. Cowan gives an excellent performance as Karin; her presence and thoughtfulness as an actress serve well the beautician's combination of self-confidence and vulnerability. Raizes holds his own as Jack, though at times his character's ineffectual nature seems a bit forced. Paredes is exuberent as the effervescent Virginia, though unfortunately her energy sometimes overwhelms her sense of timing and delivery. Liz Amberg and Rosalie Parker are memorable as the ill, subsequently dead Grandmother Mallard and the sexually charged, Coke-guzzling Romanian receptionist. Brett Conner deserves special mention for his hilarious performance eked out of a small role as the hick accompanying SuzyBelle to her cotillion.

As is often the case with shows in Leverett's technically limited Old Library space, Nobody's You's sets and lighting are unremarkable, serving mostly as a suitable backdrop for the action. Jose Guzman managed the technical aspects of the show single-handedly; perhaps he could use some assistance. The lighting design is clumsy and heavy-handed, and the set, while colorful, solves some but not all of the show's logistical challenges.

All said and done, Nobody's You is just another drop of water in an ocean of trivial sit-comes, with little redeeming it beyond its value as sheer escapist entertainment. Fortunately, it has no aspirations to be any more than that. It's a fairly pleasant drop of water, a bit more well-rounded and shiny than what usually flows from student pens. If you're looking to quench your thirst for bubbly romantic plots and fizzy characters, stop by Leverett House for a sip.