New York, April 2007 - Day Nine

TODAY: "Our Leading Lady" "Los Angeles"

Charles Busch, Tony Award-winning author of "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," is generally capable of delivering a good time, and "Our Leading Lady" is no exception. Busch has a deft hand with a one-liner, and is even more skilled at creating compelling comic characters and guiding them through a story. His plays are often campy fun (especially the ones in which he goes in drag to play the lead female characters).

"Our Leading Lady" tells a story of Laura Keene, the actress who was on stage in the Ford's Theater production of "Our American Cousin" the night Abraham Lincoln was shot. The first act is all comic antics as Keene comes in as the traveling star who is forced to work with the local cast -- and throwing everything into disorder. After the intermission, the mood turns much darker, as the cast (especially the diva) comes to terms with the fact that they will forever be associated with the tragedy of April 14, 1865.

Kudos to Kate Mulgrew for her delicious portrayal of the egotistical, self-centered (yet madly charming) Laura Keene and Ann Duquesnay, who plays Madame Wu-Tan, the stage star's dresser/assistant. Duquesnay is a zaftig black woman playing a Chinese woman (at least for most of the show -- but let's not spoil anything, shall we?) to tremendous comic effect. Kristine Nielsen is excellent, as usual -- though I would like to see a bit more range from her. She seems to be relying on the same sets of eye rolls and shuddering takes that got her laughs in "Miss Witherspoon" and "Wonder of the World."

Overall, a fun show, but nothing especially earth-shattering here.

"Los Angeles," on the other hand, while not perhaps truly earth-shattering, is nonetheless a very good production -- an exceptional one if you consider the size of its theater (and presumably its budget).

"Los Angeles" is the story of Audrey, a girl who lost her self-esteem somewhere on the road through adolescence. Now that she is a young woman, she is once again on the search for something resembling her genuine self. Unfortunately, like too many sensitive, but unassertive young woman, Audrey looks for love in drugs, alcohol, unreliable men and users of both sexes -- as well as well-intentioned people who would help Audrey, if only she could make the first step on her own.

Katherine Waterston is a revelation in this role. As portrayed by Ms. Waterston, Audrey is gentle, fierce, intelligent, foolish, needy, bossy, impetuous and passionate -- all delivered with tremendous skill and feeling. My only problem with her performance is that when she was at her worst moments (on a five-day meth binge, for example), she still looks gorgeous. In a film role, makeup could help her overcome this, but she could use a little more experience in using her prodigious physical acting skills in creating the sense of defeat, the sense of bearing the bruises delivered by hard living. (I think of how Lisa Emery in "Iron" was able to make me believe she had been on a hunger strike between act one and act two.) I hope she can get there, because tonight she showed me she has a huge amount of talent.

Only one scene in tonight's performance felt wrong to me, and it came late in the show when Audrey meets her father (long-estranged from her) for lunch. After so much that felt so true, this scene -- which rang as completely and utterly false -- was jarring to me. It felt like the show ground to a halt for those five minutes and I was so glad when Dad left the stage.

I could go on about what I liked about "Los Angeles" (the band [except for the singer, who needs to monitor her pitch a bit more closely], the simple staging, the direction of Adam Rapp), but since it closes tomorrow night, I doubt it will make much difference. But keep your eye on Katherine Waterston -- she's a keeper.

TOMORROW: "Tea & Sympathy" "Some Men"