Something Strange in Renaissance Theaterworks’ ‘The Moors’

×

Expand

Photo by Ross Zentner

Allie Babich and Emily Vitrano in Renaissance Theaterworks’ ‘The Moors’

Allie Babich and Emily Vitrano in Renaissance Theaterworks’ ‘The Moors’

Something strange is going on in Jen Silverman’s play, The Moors, which opens Renaissance Theaterworks’ fall season. It opened last weekend and continues through November 10 in Milwaukee’s Harbor District performing space it shares with Next Act Theatre. 

This adventurous play is yet another visit to the offbeat world of Jen Silverman. Renaissance has offered a number of Silverman’s plays in past seasons (last year, it produced Silverman’s Witch). In The Moors, the action plays out on a lovely set (by Jeffrey D. Kmiec) that sets the tone for this Victorian-era mystery. 

Two grown sisters, not unlike the famed, 19th century Bronte sisters, compete for attention and authority as they ramble around an immense mansion. Agatha, the oldest, is a bitter spinster who is as tightly wound as her corseted dress and braided hairdo. Her fun-loving sister, Huldey, who is also single, yearns for a glimpse of the outside world. She is curious, impetuous and childlike. Her hairstyle is an untidy mass of curls that almost dares to be tamed.

Like the literary-minded Bronte sisters, Agatha and Huldey channel their own needs and desires into their writings. Agatha writes letters to a young governess under her brother’s name. They cast a spell on Emilie, the experienced governess. She arrives at the mansion with eager anticipation, as well as surprise. She doesn’t see any children who need her care.

As for Huldey, she is constantly scribbling about the day’s events in her diary.

A Planet Spinning Off Its Axis

That’s the bare bones of the plot, anyway. But it doesn’t begin to explain the complex relationships that emerge in this 100-minute play (with no intermission). In a Silverman play, one must expect the unexpected. The task of describing the play’s storyline reminds one of the tale about several blind men trying to describe an elephant. Each one finds something different, depending on where he is standing. Likewise, one suspects that no two audience members at The Moors are going to leave the theater agreeing on what they just saw.

Watching The Moors requires something of an acquired taste. Silverman shuffles her time periods with abandon, veering between 1840s and the present. Like a planet that threatens to spin off its access, the play unfolds in seemingly unsustainable ways. For instance, there’s a pair of talking animals. One of them, a dog, develops an obsessive, all-consuming love for a tiny Moor-hen. 

×

Expand

Photo by Ross Zentner

Reese Madigan and Marti Gobel in Renaissance Theaterworks’ ‘The Moors’

Reese Madigan and Marti Gobel in Renaissance Theaterworks’ ‘The Moors’

There’s also a staff of maids, who are all played by the same actor (Emily Vitrano). Depending on the room the owners are sitting in, the maid (literally) wears many hats. She might be called Marjory or Mallery, depending on the occasion, and she might be suffering from typhus or dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. At first, the governess (Kaylene Howard) can’t make heads or tails of this odd situation (and neither can the audience). However, the maid(s) seem to have no problem with their multiple personalities, as they blithely goes about serving tea or polishing silver.

Silverman also casts the mansion and the moors themselves as characters. Although the mansion’s elegant settee, Oriental rugs and upholstered accent chairs don’t change between scenes, the characters variously announce their arrival in the portrait gallery, bedroom or great hall. These inconsistencies are very funny, as well as being quirky.

If the sisters have a love-hate relationship with the mansion, they also have one with the outdoors. One moment they are enchanted by the sight of wild birds and the endless horizon of waving grass in the brisk, cold air. But they also warn that the moors “are a savage place,” one filled with stretches of quicksand and dangerous predators. (One feels as though Alice in Wonderland would be a good bet as someone who could navigate this landscape.)

Many themes are at interwoven into The Moors, including isolation, sibling rivalry and the yearning for attention and power in an era where women were forced to be unseen and unheard. One also finds a good deal of romance and humor in the unlikely escapades that unfold here, under the sure direction of artistic director Suzan Fete and also swing director Mallory Metoxen.

Renaissance Attracts a Stellar Cast

A lesser cast would surely struggle with Silverman’s subtleties and quick time shifts, but the longtime theater company’s reputation has attracted a stellar cast. As Agatha, noted Milwaukee native (and now New Yorker with Broadway and TV credits) Sarah Sokolovic blends meticulously with the rest of the ensemble. Sadly, Sokolovic’s character doesn’t allow the actor much opportunity to display her theatrical range. 

Things are brighter for Allie Babich as Huldey. In her Renaissance debut, Babich’s character seems like a female counterpart to Tom Hulce’s Mozart in the film, “Amadeus.” She is silly, giddy, restless and fanciful. She is also quite impressionable. (At the maid’s suggestion, Huldey contemplates whether she can make a name for herself as a ruthless “murderess.”) 

Actor Kaylene Howard, also making her Renaissance debut, makes good use of Emilie’s unfamiliarity with the ways of this strange household. Not only does she deliver many of laughs, she also enchants the audience with her lilting voice in a tender song. (Noted music director Jill Anna Ponasik is responsible for the play’s songs.) 

In the animal category, popular actor Reese Madigan shines as the Mastiff. At first, the dog expresses his wish to be recognized as being part of his human family. When that fails, he roams the moors and eventually seeks out the company of a wounded Moor-hen (superbly played by a wide-eyed Marti Gobel). Gobel’s tiny bird is understandably afraid of the large dog, even though he professes his love and protects her. The actors create a genuine, sympathetic bond between the two characters, even as their body movements and voices realistically represent a dog and a bird.

As the maid with multiple personalities, actor Emily Vitrano balances her various characters in a way that’s seemingly effortless. It belies all the hard work that Vitrano has done to produce this effect. Amazingly, she manages to keep the audience up-to-speed as the number of her characters increase during the play.

Thanks to the play’s production artistry, the actual moors are visible behind the mansion “walls” (mostly a series of retractable curtains). A slow stream of “fog” emanates from the background, casting the show in an otherworldly mist. This is complimented by excellent sound (by Josh Schmidt) and evocative lighting (Noele Stollmack).

Silverman’s play may not be for everyone, but audience members with a willingness to go where the playwright takes them are sure to find an enjoyable evening with Renaissance Theaterworks.          

The Moors runs through November 10 at the Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water Street in Milwaukee. For tickets, visit rtwmke.org, or call the box office at 414-278-0765.