REVIEW
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Plain Jane Theatre’s Varscona Theatre Ensemble
Runs until Feb. 24
Varscona Theatre
10329 – 83 Ave.
Tickets: $32 to $37 at yeglive.ca
There is something bold, flamboyant, intriguing yet slightly artificial about Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown running at Varscona Theatre.
Based on Pedro Almodóvar’s internationally renowned film, this musical is studded with the region’s finest triple threats. Yet despite the immense talent and creativity of the cast and crew, the emotional heart of this farce beats irregularly.
Directed by Kate Ryan of Plain Jane Theatre’s Varscona Ensemble, with a book by Jeffrey Lane and songs by David Yazbek, this story about over-the-top love in 1980s Madrid has a disjointed feel, in large part due to the script.
Ryan has worked hard to deliver an intimate pace that varies from mercurial and fast-moving to a more leisurely stroll allowing audiences to breathe.
Yet some scenes that worked naturally in the movie, deliver a more fractured feel in the musical – possibly a reflection of five unhappy Spanish women looking for romance and reassurance in all the wrong places.
The plot follows the film closely as Pepa (Jocelyn Ahlf) is an actress and voice dubber whose long-time lover, Ivan (Vance Avery), jilts her and disappears.
This Spanish Romeo makes a habit of walking out on women, including his wife Lucia (Andrea House), recently released from a mental institution.
She not only wants to kill Pepa. More importantly, Lucia is desperate to win back Ivan and the 20 years of lost life spent in a hospital.
Also careening down love’s rocky path is Carlos (Gabriel Gagnon), Lucia and Ivan’s adult son, a somewhat naïve, geeky-looking guy who is visibly controlled by his mother.
Carlos’ girlfriend Marissa (Madeleine Knight) is a waspish fiancée determined to plan a wedding surrounded by a checklist of bridal trappings. Wearing blinders, she is unable to see her traditional state of virginity is at odds in a modern world filled with independent women.
Pepa’s best friend, Candela (Michelle Diaz), is a wonderful comic relief as an airhead model who just discovered her latest fling is a terrorist arrested for instigating a bombing attack.
And then there’s Paulina (Gianna Read-Skelton), Ivan’s latest love. She’s also a feminist lawyer taking Ivan to court on behalf of his client Lucia.
Sounds crazy confusing. You bet it is. But there’s also a charming taxi driver (Jason Hardwick) who provides context and narrates sequences while zooming through Madrid.
In this show, the cast busts their butts, however they have stiff competition from all the stylized technical elements: costume designer Leona Brausen’s stunning, multi-coloured palette; lighting designer Matt Currie’s bold, striking combinations, and Kristen Klammer’s modernistic scenic design.
Underlying all this is an absolutely joyous four-piece live band composed of music director Erik Mortimer, Van Wilmott (bass), Stephen Hoy (drums-percussion) and Paul Lamoureaux (keyboard-reeds).
The foursome successfully create numerous emotional moments and capture the flavours of sultry Spanish rhythms that always leave one wanting more.
Yet oddly enough, Thursday night’s audience reserved the biggest applause for Invisible. House delivers a soulful, anguished lament of Lucia's broken life with earnest emotion that truly tugs at the heart.
The actors deliver their lines with a Spanish accent. If you can ignore the occasional slipped pronunciation and some fractured scenes, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown offers more than a few good laughs, superb music and one of the region’s most dynamic casts.
