Theater review: Some Girl(s)

by Cheryl Cory of John Garcia's The Column

Charming, gorgeous, charismatic. I'm speaking, of course, of the girls in Neil LaBute's Some Girl(s) (now playing in the Studio Space at the Addison Theatre Center). It is nearly impossible to imagine that Guy ever had the charms necessary to create this incredible wake of destruction. Guy is a self-serving, self-indulgent, egotistical man about to marry a young beautiful nurse. He travels the country on an escapade to reunite with his list of women. On the surface, his motivation is to go back and heal the hurts of his past relationships in order to move forward into eternal bliss.

It becomes clear fairly quickly that he completely enjoys stirring the pot and learning the true nature of the depth of their wounds. At one point, one girl slaps him and he wears this proudly like a badge of honor.

LaBute takes on this Scrooge-like theme with brute force. He recognizes the improbability of having romantic relationships in life without having some level of hurt feelings; this play will most likely touch upon some aspect of anyone's own history. This need to revisit and discover how much effect Guy's actions had on these women only serve to add to his own enormous ego. "You want to know you mattered to someone," one of his girls stated. Guy wants to know how much he hurt them regardless of the fact that revisiting these issues opens old wounds that time never truly healed.

Diane Worman gave an outstanding performance as "Sam," demonstrating the complexities of the first girl Guy encounters.

Ashley Wood's portrayal is, at times, a bit overplayed for the true debonair character he is invoking. However, he does a nice job of transitioning through each of the scenarios to adjust to the rhythm of the new climate.

Neil LaBute originally wrote this play with just four girls in mind. Reggie's character was added years later. Guy's interaction with Reggie displays his sliminess in an entirely new level, bordering on perversity. Very few 18 year old boys would even acknowledge, let alone approach, an 11-year-old girl in a sexual manner. It was very clear Reggie's tormented and twisted esteem never completely figured out on how to process the event.

Natalie Young as Reggie clearly engrossed the stage. Her characterization incorporated every tear, excitement, giddiness, horror, betrayal, fear, and joy. She pulled the audience into her struggles and trepidation. Her emotions displayed from her head to her toes as her story unfolded, bringing her little girl-like mannerisms to the forefront as she twisted and turned her feet while talking of dreams gone by. A few very well-done comedic lines kept it light-hearted but she clearly expressed an anger-frosted hurt. Natalie's timing is simply superb. A truly SENSATIONAL performance by an incredibly captivating young actress. She is one to watch!

By contrast, Lindsay and Guy's exchange slowed way down. It lacked the snap of previous scenes. I frankly did not find it convincing. I could not imagine these two characters ever having been a union.

The direction was questionable at certain points, with the audience unable to see both characters' expressions in the midst of a discussion and at times, brilliant. This tiny stage creates directional challenges that Jonathan Taylor commendably overcame.

The scene changes went flawlessly. All acts of this play takes place in a hotel room situated in several different cities. Small details make it easily distinguishable. The "girl(s)" assist each other with these changes moving smoothly from scene to scene.

Anastasia Munoz's costume selections were so wonderfully appropriate that I forgot I was watching a play. Simple but suitable and quite unique for each character.

An announcement was made at the very beginning of the show that there would be smoking on the stage. This small one room theatre does not bode well for a smoking environment. If I had been allergic, I would have been unable to stand it and a bit miffed as I would have already purchased tickets and been sitting in my seat about to watch the show when this was announced. I understand they wanted to keep it real by smoking on stage; however, a well placed fan may have been helpful in keeping the air more comfortable for non-smokers.

Guy's hair served as the most utilized prop. At first, it was an interesting twitch to watch him struggle with the unraveling events. By the end of the evening, hair flips became more of a distraction and appeared to be signs of a bad habit rather than specifically adding value to the play.

Comedic relief was sprinkled through each of the dramatic discussions with enough frequency that it aided in keeping it at times lighthearted entertainment.

I found this quaint little theatre to be a very enjoyable getaway to explore this modern day story and highly recommend that you catch Second Thought's season closer, Some Girl(s).