27 Rue de Fleurus: Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas - Who’s On Top?
Oscar E Moore from the rear mezzanine for Talk Entertainment
If only the book and lyrics (Ted Sod) and music and lyrics (Lisa Koch) of 27 Rue de Fleurus measured up to lovely costumes by Carrie Robbins and the incredibly wondrous, surreal, false perspective white salon of a set conjured up by Roman Tatarowicz we might have a work of art being performed at Urban Stages - rather than just a mere sketch.
Not that the show doesn’t have its assets. It does. Chiefly in the actresses portraying Gertrude Stein (Barbara Rosenblat) and Alice B. Toklas (Cheryl Stern). Both are glorious in their respective roles. And role playing. Gertrude the genius. A demanding genius. And Alice, her subservient typist, fetcher, cook, supporter, muse, friend and wife and to quote her “the woman behind the woman”. Gertrude considered herself to be her own muse. Did she truly love Alice or just use her?
In this ninety minute, uneven chamber musical – directed by Frances Hill - it is Alice who valiantly tries to take center stage. But at every conceivable moment that she can Gertrude is there to upstage her. After all, she was the more famous, dominant person in their forty year relationship. Alice was always in her rather large shadow. But she chose to be in that shadow. Didn’t she? So the telling of her side of the story is a bit lopsided - like the walls of the inspired salon on stage.
Gertrude and Alice are supported by three other actresses – playing both male and female roles. The concept is interesting. If only the women playing both male and female roles were up to the task. Sarah Chalfy shines as Mabel Dodge but falters as Picasso and becomes a caricature of Jean Harlow who sounds like Mae West. Susan Haefner stumbles as a drunken F. Scott Fitzgerald but is lovely as Marion Walker and May Bookstaver. As Leo, Gertrude’s brother, Emily Zacharias shows just the right chutzpah in dealing with his sister. As Sylvia Beach she is equally good. But as Violet Startup – in an unfortunate getup she looks more like a man playing a woman – which under the circumstances is ironic to say the least.
The musical takes place in the mind and imagination of Alice. This is Alice’s version of what took place. Here she is attractive, assertive and just as strong as her counterpart. But Gertrude keeps butting in. True to character. It might have been great fun if we were able to briefly see a total role reversal.
There is a lot of famous name dropping, interesting talk about sex, art, homosexuality, jealousy and past loves in the tuneful and sometimes witty score - but something seems to be missing. Overall, it’s unsatisfying. Superficial. Skimming the surface of their relationship through the years - rather than getting under the skin and into the minds of both Alice and Gertrude. Alice and Gertrude. It doesn’t sound right, does it? Gertrude and Alice really is better. Gertrude had that part right all along.
www.urbanstages.org
03-11-08
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Anonymous
wrote:
Your reviewer missed the point -- this piece is about making Gertrude human and her upstaging Alice even though Alice is trying to tell her version of their story. It is a simple love story fraught with jealousy. Thsi reviewer also says the roles should be reversed and in fact the best (climactic) scene is when Alice forces Gertrude to retype every may to can in a manuscript because she discovers an affair that Gertrude had with a woman named May. Alice obvioussly was nto rational. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this piece and found it quite well written, witty and moving. Did we see/hear the same show as your reviewer? I think someone needs to wear their hearing aid more often.
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