THEATRE RESPONSE: THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG

Last night my sister & I attended a great performance of the late Wendy Wasserstein's funny & touching play The Sisters Rosensweig playing until April 30th at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts and presented by TheatreWorks.

The show that was supposed to close their season was a new musical called Pamela's First Musical written by Wasserstein and the late Cy Coleman. Wasserstein died recently and the production was postponed. To honor her, director Robert Kelley pays tribute with this first rate production.

The story deals with three very different sisters on the 54th birthday celebration of Sarah - who was recently ill. The sisters are very close and the story revolves around them, their relationships, their mother and of course their men.

The production dazzles from the very beginning and as you walk into the theatre and see the gorgeous detail of Joe Ragey's set. This man is a Bay Area treasure. I felt as if I was peeking inside a very beautiful home.

As with any TheatreWorks production - the cast shines and every member brings something special to their roles. I will name them all since they were was no weak link with this cast: David E. Kazanjian was perfect as a snobbish English man, Jeff Williams was hilarious as a bi-sexual theatre director, Chad Ryan Deverman was deliciously funny and very nice to look at onstage =+) Michael G. Hawkings was so believable in his role of a middle-aged man in search for a good woman, Lindsay Benner had some wonderful moments as the daughter but the show is really about 3 sisters and they shine above all.

Alison Edwards was exceptional in the role of Sara Goode, a hard part to play as she goes through a transformation in the show but it has to be subtle and she does carry the role with great acting abilities. My two personal favorites (as was my own sister's) was Bay Area favorite Rebecca Dines as Pfeni, a world-traveler in love with a bi-sexual man. I found myself not liking the character as written but I fell in love with Ms. Dines. She was so on - so believable that I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I have never seen her perform before but I must now make it a point to see her perform more often. As the most Jewish sister of them all, Carole Healey was a hoot as Gorgeous. She possessed great coming timing.

The play has some wonderful moments and the chemistry between the three sisters is magnetic. The play does tend to lag a little bit - maybe that is because the play was about 2 hours and forty minutes long which is just a little too long for me. However, I strongly recommend the show. It is both poignant & funny.

TheatreWorks' 2006-07 season opens with Vanities - a new musical opening June 21st.