Leslie Day, Eric Teeter, and Ashley Hoskins in The House of Blue Leaves
I didn’t know much about John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves before attending Saturday’s performance, and to tell you the truth, now having seen the Playcrafters Nbarn Theatre's production directed by Kathy Graham, I still feel like I’m missing key insights.
The production begins with Eric Teeter's Artie Schnaughnessy walking through his apartment and conversing with the audience before playing some (intentionally) not-so-great songs on the piano. During this time, a few stagehands and even the people in the booth were shouting at Artie and interacting with him, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure what, exactly, was happening. After Teeter left the stage, we got some pre-show announcements, and then the show got rolling.
One might think the plot would offer some answers, but in this case, Guare's script left me with even more questions. The basic plot is that in 1965 Queens, New York, Artie the zookeeper and his girlfriend Bunny (Leslie Day) would like to move to Hollywood to reunite with Artie’s friend Billy (Eric Landuyt), who is now a famous director, in the hopes that Artie’s songwriting will make it big in the movies. The one thing holding Artie back is his mentally ill wife Bananas (Ashley Hoskins). Between you and me, though, Guare naming a character “Bananas” when she's going to end up mentally ill seems a little harshly on-the-nose … but may be what was considered “dark comedy” when House of Blue Leaves premiered in 1971.
Graham’s cast, at least, is truly phenomenal in this production, and Artie might be the best role I’ve ever seen Teeter portray. He brings just the right amount of frantic energy when he’s on stage, delivering small, nuanced choices that add elements of reality to each situation. It’s just that Artie, no thanks to Guare, is incredibly unlikable (intensified by his mentally unsound wife and irritating girlfriend!) and, sadly, he’s so clearly musically untalented that you can’t help but root against him. He’s the most clueless, out-of-touch character I believe I’ve ever seen on stage. But if one is rooting against Artie, Mr. Guare, your script doesn’t give us anyone to root for in his stead.
Bunny certainly brings out the worst in Artie, too, even though Day’s accent is topnotch and it’s not her fault that her character is written as insanely annoying. I couldn’t get over Bunny's outfits, either. Costumer Erin Emerle did a fantastic job adorning Day in costumes that look fabulously 1965, but for a character with many lines about how cold it is outside – so much so that she makes her boyfriend wear his clothes over his pajamas to stay warm – she certainly could've worn something warmer herself.
Hoskins is perhaps the character you feel the sorriest for. Finding care for mental-health issues in the current day can be tricky, but go back to 1965, and no wonder the poor thing is unstable. Hoskins brings a nice balance to Bananas and her lucid moments are among the best the night has to offer.
Graham does an excellent job of having her cast utilize the Playcrafters space well. And oh, the space looks magnificent. Jake Ladd’s construction of Graham’s design, with details added by Kendall and Kathie Burnett, are fantastic. The action doesn’t feel stagnant, and even when characters are on the floor, the sight-lines work quite well. I also don’t know whether to credit Graham or her cast, but even when they’re simply in the background, they’re always “on.” Watch characters when they aren’t talking and you’ll see what I mean.
In her director’s notes, Graham mentions how she loves farce. House of Blue Leaves is chock full of farcical elements given the ludicrously impossible situations that include people sneaking in and hiding for an entire first act; there’s also plenty of storming around and opening and closing doors. The second act even brings with it a few brief moments of mistaken identity. Yet what this production was missing was the comedic aspects of the absurdity.
Maybe Guare’s writing just isn’t particularly funny to me. Perhaps the script, like Banana’s moniker, hasn’t aged well, or the other patrons on Saturday were as confused as I was … but it just wasn’t humorous. Sure, a few good one-liners elicited laughs, but in truth, the show was completely depressing. Honestly, when Landuyt finally arrives and sobs uncontrollably for a few minutes, it makes perfect sense, because it is all simply sad. Even the asides were woeful. Nearly every character had a moment to chat with the audience to let us in on what was going through their heads – a moment of connection, if you will. These flashes of personal insight into the characters could have shifted the dark tone to one slightly funnier, but they simply reiterated how broken all of these people were.
I don’t know what genre I’d lump The House of Blue Leaves into. This production may defy genre altogether, but it’s far from a miss; the entire talented cast performs beautifully, salvaging the sorrowful script, and the set is lovely. The unsettled ending certainly doesn’t clear anything up. But maybe you’re the kind of theatre-goer who doesn’t need closure to your questions.
The House of Blue Leaves runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL) through May 26, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.
