For its second show in an all-Eugene O'Neill season, Muddy Waters Theatre presents one of the playwright's least-known works from his least-explored genre: "Now I Ask You," a comedy.
It's not clear how much of the play O'Neill wrote himself — his then-wife, Agnes Boulton O'Neill, allegedly rewrote and edited the script after he had abandoned it. But the result is a three-act show packed with witty dialogue and thought-provoking arguments about free love versus marriage — ideas that are especially intriguing now, when marriage equality has taken center stage.
The play opens with a gunshot, an apparent suicide. But a comedy quickly ensues when we meet free-thinker Lucy Ashleigh, played superbly by Katie McGee. She brings the perfect blend of pretension and naïveté to the role, making Lucy obnoxious but still likable.
Robert Ashton and Andra Harkins contribute fine performances as Lucy's parents, who dispense pearls of wisdom as needed.
Lucy's patient husband Tom — whom she'd really prefer to keep on as a friend with benefits, thanks — is played charmingly by a blond Ben Ritchie.
"Why this useless formality of marriage?" Lucy wonders.
Frustrated by Lucy's desire not to be tied down by traditional marriage vows, and by her interest in flamboyant poet Gabriel Adams (Alan C. David), Tom's eyes soon wander to Leonora Barnes (Sarajane Alverson), an artist with a dislike of all things bourgeois.
Gabriel ("Don't call me Gabe!") and Leonora are married, a fact they don't like to discuss. "Marriage is for propagation," Leo says, "and artists shouldn't propagate." David and Alverson play their eccentric roles (with plenty of delicious lines) with plenty of moxie, but it's hard to detect what Lucy or Leo could possibly find attractive about smarmy Gabriel.
What's a girl to do? We hope Lucy figures it out quickly, before meeting the fate of her Henrik Ibsen hero, Hedda Gabler.
The play's well-appointed set, full of details that make it feel truly real, was designed by Sean M. Savoie. Mary Beth Amsier's costumes bring the characters and their various personalities to life. Jerry McAdams directs.
By Gabe Hartwig • ©2010 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, STLtoday.com • Published 06.17.10
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