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The Tale of the Allergist's Wife |
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Author: Charles Busch
Reviewer: Carolyn Albert for Theatre Reviews Limited |
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Both the music that opens both Act I and Act II and the show's title hint that this will be a parable. There will be a very good person, a very wise person, a very foolish person, a very bad person, and a hero - actually a heroine, who must choose between them.
  
The heroine is Marjorie Taub (LINDA LAVIN), whose idea of an evening out is to attend a culturally worthy event that causes most people to close their eyes and nod off - even Marjorie. Insecure about her own profundity, she aspires to higher intellectualism and deeper culture. Or - as author CHARLES BUSCH sees her, she's a typical middle-aged, upper-middle class, Upper West Side neurotic, liberal-leaning, insecure Jew. Out-of-towners will soon realize they've entered a world endemic to New York.
Marjorie is recovering from a mental crisis, the death of her therapist, which climaxed in a humiliating and expensive breakdown in a Disney store where she tried to shatter the idols of popular culture - like Goofy. Now back from the hospital, she bemoans the loss of her soul. The response of her husband, Dr. Ira Taub (TONY ROBERTS), is to open the drapes. Ever patient and loving, he's a beloved and honored allergist. Although recently retired, he finds many ways to do good deeds. He opened a free clinic in Harlem; he teaches at NYU; he speaks on the radio. He's adored by students and ex-patients. Where Ira has found a rewarding niche in life that also gives them their comfortable lifestyle, Marjorie feels empty and despondent, often alone because of his many obligations.
Isolated, seemingly without companionship, Marjorie and Ira's adult daughters have moved far away. Her greatest burden is her elderly mother, Frieda (SHIRL BERNHEIM), who lives nearby and regularly drops in uninvited. Frieda has two distinct behaviors: first, she is obsessed with her bowel movements, describing them in detail - usually when Marjorie is eating. Second, she puts Marjorie down at every turn, a pattern that certainly contributed to her insecurity. Ira overlooks the ranting of the foolish old woman who joyfully pushes Marjorie's buttons until she grows hysterical, yelling and ranting like a madwoman.
Marjorie's deepest joy has been in reading, Herman Hesse in particular, a pleasure she shares with her young Iraqi doorman, Mohammed (ANIL KUMAR). In this fable, he is the wise one; that is, he wises everyone up.
When a 40-year-ago childhood best friend "accidentally" knocks on her door, Marjorie more than welcomes her - especially when it turns out that Lee (MICHELE LEE) has been living the kind of life that Marjorie hungers for. Where Marjorie once wrote a novel so esoteric that thirty-two publishers rejected it (and Marjorie burned it in frustration), Lee has participated in some of the greatest moments in recent history. Her trip to China was with the Nixon entourage. She had an affair with Gunter Grass and was in Germany, celebrating with the students when the Berlin Wall fell. With little prompting, Lee plays up her past, sweeping Marjorie out of her house and back into her world of shopping and culture.
Since nobody but Marjorie seems to have seen Lee, soon both Ira and Frieda convince Marjorie that she is still ill, having illusions. Lavin plays Marjorie with high energy. Her facial statements and gestures are maximum extensions of great emotions. Those who sit up close will be rewarded with the joy of seeing her every facial tic and grimace. The precise comic timing of her delivery makes us believe every extreme moment.
Bernheim delivers her lines with innocent savagery. Together, Bernheim and Lavin recreate a mother/daughter team who live to torture each other - with riotous results. Tony Roberts is totally credible as Dr. Taub, a man who "radiates a simple goodness that's almost Biblical." Roberts plays him as a believable human being. Michele Lee is sharp and beautiful as Lee, demonstrating dramatic acting talent in a straight part to match her singing ability in leading roles like "How to Succeed in Business."
In a subtle way, Busch comments that these worldly and sophisticated Upper-West-Siders have been insulated from reality; the young immigrant from a conflicted nation has sharper perception. Glamorous and beautifully dressed (Costumes by ANN ROTH define both women with stunning precision), Lee is seductive to nearly everyone. She laughs at Ira's jokes and flatters him easily. Only Mohammed isn't taken in by her charm. Kumar as actor skillfully sidesteps falling into an easy stereotype.
Direction by LYNNE MEADOW allows everything to be on a grand scale. The actors' emotions are extreme. In SANTO LOQUASTO's set, there aren't just books - they are in floor-to-ceiling cases on every wall; the chandelier is larger than in a hotel's grand ballroom; a bowl of fruit on the counter would serve a regiment. Balanced sound design by BRUCE ELLMAN & BRIAN RONAN lets all of Busch's funny lines be heard clearly. CHRISTOPHER AKERLIND's lighting highlights the action.
This tale is full of sound and fury - signifying a lot of hearty laughing. The moral of the fable is quite obvious: Live, laugh, have a good time - and start by seeing "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife."
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Produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club with Carole Shorenstein Hays, Daryl Roth, Stuart Thompson, and Douglas S. Cramer.
Theater: Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th Street
Schedule: Tuesday - Saturday at 8, Wednesday & Saturday at 2, Sunday at 3.
Tickets: $30-70 at Box office or online at www.allergistswife.com. Also through TeleCharge 212/239-6200.
Audience: Suggested for mature teens - up. Contains some obscenity and sexual references.
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