Alexa Gilker’s Beautiful Obedient Wife was another piece I was divided on, although not nearly to the extent of The Human Body Project. A face on the rights and position of women in Ukraine, it tells the story of the lovely Maria, another aspiring naked female activist, who discovers that both her boyfriend and her mother have conspired to con an unsuspecting Canadian out of his money by suggesting Maria will be his mail-order bride. Bloody hell ensues when the gentleman in question comes looking for his betrothed and a series of events leads Maria to resort to desperate measures to prevent her family from being evicted from their apartment.
After seeing this piece I judge that I had a very similar experience to what Liz Marsh underwent when she reviewed 1959 Pink Thunderbird Convertible at Langham Court. Namely: strong acting and some clever direction held up a very average script. Let’s be clear, the script isn’t terrible by any means, but it has a certain canned laughter sit-com feel to it. Just as Liz doubted that 1959 Pink Thunderbird Convertible had accurately portrayed Texans, I didn’t believe for a second that what I was seeing was the authentic Ukrainian experience. What was even more regretful was its insistence on using some very basic, very tired stereotypes in place of its characters. The oversexed boyfriend, the man-hunting cougar mama, and the miserly tyrannical landlord and the brainy stalwart heroine who just wants more from life! As previously mentioned by Liz, if I'm out of line here I apologize, but somehow I doubt it.
Given my lukewarm reaction to the story, it amazed me that both the acting and the direction turned out being so solid. Much like Henry IV Part One, this is a very talented ensemble that bring a new kind of crazed life to the scenes, combined with very fluid blocking and scene transitions by director Sandi Barrett that prevent the audience from losing interest. If I had any real complaint it would be that everyone occasionally drops their faux-Eastern European accents, but that’s not greatly important. Everyone here deserves praise, but two notable standouts for me are Myk Byskov for his turn as Maria’s hapless boyfriend and Trevor Hinton as the deliciously seedy Landlord.
Set design by Breanna Wise is nice and simple, giving just enough of an impression of some kind of a slum, while the whole show is scored by a live band consisting of accordions, violins and guitar in what is quite a pleasant cherry on top of everything.
As I said before, while the script leaves a lot to be desired, the cast and crew do their darnedest to still make this an entertaining ride. Beautiful Obedient Wife opened to a packed, enthusiastic audience, and will doubtlessly see a few more before it’s done.
Check out The Marble here at: http://marblevictoria.com/
