Female Cast Delivers in ‘Alba’

Although none appear in the play, men dominate “The House of Bernarda Alba.”

Presented as a joint venture by the Undergraduate Council, the Ann Radcliffe Trust, and the Office for the Arts with producer Kim Chen ’08 and director Mary E. Birnbaum ’07, this story of a proud widow who attempts to keep her household from shame by oppressing her five rebellious daughters suggests sexual frustration and a deep disillusionment with men. These themes collide forcefully with the claustrophobia of small-town life in Spain at the turn of the century.

Written by Federico Garcia Lorca and running in the Loeb Experimental Theater until April 22, the particulars of “Bernarda Alba” are not always perfect. Yet the show succeeds in presenting a drama that is both amusing and deeply tragic through a painfully up-close lens.

In portraying women who must battle oppression as well as their own passions, the actors all have outstanding performances. Alexandra C. Palma ’08 is particularly arresting as the matriarch, Bernarda Alba. She gives a nuanced portrayal of a tyrannical, yet vulnerable mother; Palma’s expressive face shows her internal conflicts well. Although Bernarda is the ostensible oppressor of the family, the suggestion that it is actually men who are the tyrants in this play is omnipresent, and so Palma’s increasing pathos lends her character greater credibility.

Olga I. Zhulina ’09 shines as Adela, the beautiful youngest daughter of Bernarda whose recklessness leads her to folly. Her portrayal of a woman at once romantic and sexually rapacious—with the idealism of youth but the ruthlessness of her mother—galvanizes Adela’s character with an energy that makes Zhulina a first-year presence to watch.

The more experienced Julia E.B. Morton ’07 performs admirably as Angustias, the dramatic counterpart to Adela. As the oldest sister and only daughter whose wedding will ensure her escape from the house, Angustias’ haughty demeanor and unrealistic optimism after her engagement are well captured by Morton’s patronizing airs.

Alison H. Rich ’09 also proves herself to be a strong first-year actress as Martirio, a deeply observant and physically handicapped sister whose sabotaged love affair leads her to attempt to curtail Adela’s headlong impulses; her cutting remarks bring a sarcastic humor to the show. And the maid Ellen C. Quigley ’07, who serves both as an additional source of comic relief and as a second mother figure, adds a much-needed warmth to the discontented themes of the play.

HRDC acting and directing veteran Birnbaum’s direction is characteristically excellent. Although some plot points are never resolved, and the presence of some scenes distracts from the main drama between Bernarda and her daughters (such as the recurring appearance of the senile grandmother Maria Josefa, excellently acted by Masha O. Godina ’08), Birnbaum succeeds at creating a claustrophobic small-town feel that accentuates the drama of “Bernarda Alba.”

The added touch of making all the other characters sit off to the side, watching the action as they embroider wedding trousseaus, suggests a paranoid feeling of invisible yet omnipresent eyes that connects the audience to the play.

The set design brings incredible new meaning to the “Experimental” name of the theater, radically transforming and shrinking the scale of the Ex. Burlap cloth drastically lowers the roof, and there’s no space between the opposite sides of the audience and the set; the effect is to make the action as close to the audience as possible. The design is an interesting move for designer Jess R. Burkle ’06, whose Mainstage production “Knock” estranges its audience with its large-scale set. A smaller scale suits this family drama, as the entire theater becomes the House of the play.

The drab, yet fussy style of the costumes is well-suited to the characters’ reluctant gravity. Costume designer Sabrina Chou ’09 is wise to give each sister’s black dress different-colored frills, since this both helps distinguish the actors and suggests the tumult underlying their obedient demeanors. Although the makeup is perhaps too good considering that the daughters are all supposed to be in their thirties—most of them look too young and pretty—the actors’ attention to their own makeup serves to underscore the feminine character of the play.

Tom E. Osborne ’08 brings an added dimension of complexity to the show with his characteristically skillful lighting design. Vacillating between rich yellows that accentuate the wooden furniture and dusty earth of the set and harsh white lights that suggest the underlying tension and scrutiny of the omnipresent “neighbors,” the result is simple but effective. It suggests the schizophrenic divide between the warm atmosphere of a family at home and the harsh problems that underlie their interaction.

Although the music drowns out the actors at times, sound designer Rachel E. Flynn ’09 ensures that the sound effects are well-timed and that the music covers a range of genres. One of the best parts of the show is the dance that spontaneously breaks out when changing scenes; the characters’ provocative style and intensity really captures their inner passions.

Although some minor elements are mislaid, “Bernarda Alba” succeeds on a very personal level. It captures the feeling of a dysfunctional family at home, with all its accompanying tensions, while also anchoring the characters in broader issues of gender and society. Above all, the play is an entertaining and compelling story, one that is worth seeing.



—Reviewer Mary A. Brazelton can be reached at mbrazelt@fas.harvard.edu.