Production Workshop's "Redeeming Qualities" is a three-scene show portraying a dysfunctional family, a tense brunch and a rooftop rendezvous in Milan, Italy. The show, written and directed by Wade German '07, opened Wednesday night to a packed room in PW's upstairs space.
The three scenes are only connected in a thematic sense, with members of the cast playing different roles in each scene. The sharply conceived dialogue flows naturally - German embraces awkward pauses and nonsensical exclamations to capture the rhythm of real exchanges. This is true particularly in the second scene - "The Phony" - as the characters transition from small talk to painful verbal jabs, emerging with a renewed intimacy.
The first scene, titled "Some Enchanted Evening," opens with first-grader Daniel, played by Caleb McEntire '10, singing the titular song and standing on a chair in darkness, illuminated by light. As his performance concludes, the house lights come up on his family congratulating him.
Daniel's mother and grandmother perch on a worn, plaid sofa while Daniel's cold father lurks behind them. Daniel's grandfather sits in a comfy armchair beside an endtable filled with liquor bottles, and his relative Samantha, played by Phoebe Lapine '07, sprawls on the floor nearby.
This family scene soon dissolves into squabbling and tense exchanges as the characters attempt to talk over each other. Lapine provides some delightful comic relief as Samantha, twirling around the stage and making blatant cries for attention as Daniel sits uncomfortably in the midst of a family dispute.
"Some Enchanted Evening" captures the dynamics of family - mother and daughter rehash old issues as father and son-in-law force a conversation about meaningless trivialities. One child is caught in the middle, while the other is ignored.
"The Phony" focuses on a former couple engaged in an awkward conversation over brunch in Manhattan. The spare setting - a cafe table and two chairs - focuses the audience's attention on the dialogue, which begins with friendly banter and descends into a more uncomfortable and unsettling exchange.
The final scene, "Milan, Italy," leaves the somewhere-in-Manhattan settings of the previous scenes and portrays a marijuana-smoking New Yorker on a church roof in Milan with the vivacious Francesca and Eduardo, played by Zoe Chao '08 and Maxwell Hoffman '07.5 respectively. Clusters of darkly clad, raucous Italians joke and sing in the background as Francesca and Eduardo try to draw out the reticent Ben. Chao and Hoffman are thoroughly believable as seemingly carefree Italian youths.
This scene has a slightly different tone, opening with a monologue by the main character before settling into a group scene. The narrative devolves into violence, but the scene ultimately ends with the redemptive power of music.
The show runs under 45 minutes. The last performance of "Redeeming Qualities" is tonight at 8 p.m. in PW's upstairs space.
