BIG LOVE at Hip Pocket Theatre
“I like plays that are not too neat, too finished, too presentable. My plays are broken, jagged, filled with sharp edges, filled with things that take sudden turns, careen into each other, smash up, veer off in sickening turns. That feels good to me. It feels like my life. It feels like the world.” – Charles Mee
I’m not one for neat stories myself. Charles Mee and I have that in common. I find those kinds of stories lack truth and rawness and vulnerability. Life is not neat. It is a beautiful mess that continually folds in on itself. Right when you think you understand it or understand something of it, it reveals to you that you’re closer than you used to be but farther than you know. This is why I find this particular work quite fascinating.
“Big Love” is inspired by what many believe is the earliest play produced in the Western world, The Suppliants by Aeschylus. The original text follows the fifty brides as they flee to avoid marrying their fifty cousins – yes, I said cousins. Charles Mee’s take on the story is raucous, fun, and irreverent. His play finds the fifty brides – represented by three sisters: Lydia (Gabriela Yarbrough), Olympia (Lauren Riley) and Thyona (Amanda Reyes) – fleeing from Greece to an Italian villa. Upon arrival, they seek asylum from the colorful Italian family that owns the villa. However, they don’t quite get what they were hoping.
From the first moment of the show, Emily Scott Banks lets you know that she is keenly aware of the space of Hip Pocket Theatre and plans on using every inch of it. Lydia (Yarbrough) wearily descends the stairs located in the back of the theatre. She takes a few steps and allows her wedding dress to fall before slipping into a free-standing tub a few feet away. Soon enough, we meet the other sisters, Olympia (Riley) and Thyona (Reyes).
Each sister represents a common female archetype. Lydia is the romantic. She doesn’t have a problem with love per se. Her problem is moreso the idea of not having a say in who she loves. Olympia never came across a trinket that she didn’t want. She seems to fixate on materials and a not so hidden desire to be a “kept woman.” Thyona is the no-nonsense feminist. She’s the leader of the pack and doesn’t take shit from anyone.
To make things even, Mee provides us with three cousins to be proxies for our fifty grooms. Nikos (Ash Vance) is a tender-hearted young man learning to think for himself. Oed (Cameron Martinez) is a man of few words but lots of grunts. Constantine (Ron Fernandez) is the leader of the pack. He gives big incel energy. Once again, Banks shows that she knows how to help her characters make an entrance. Aided by the wonderful sound design of David Lanza, the cousins’ helicopter entrance was one of the most memorable moments of the show.
Our Italian family rounds out our merry cast. Guiliano (Tyler Dorney) is the first housemate we meet. He’s a gentle and welcoming spirit with lots of personality. Bella (Melinda Wood Allen) is the beloved and hilarious matriarch. Piero (James Warila) is Bella’s beloved son and the owner of the villa. Eleanor (Aaron Knowles Dias) and Leo (Justin Rhodes) are a madly in love couple – extended family – that happens to be at the villa on holiday.
The play has instances where Banks’ direction is firing on all cylinders. The show shines during the moments when physicality is central to the comedy. The actors really commit, and it is an absolute joy to watch. Performance-wise, Reyes is the undoubtable standout of the bunch. Her Thyona was vibrant and full of verve. She listened with the same level of intensity as she spoke. I found her portrayal to be full of conviction and truth. Fernandez, Vance, Dias, and Dorney also have some incredibly strong moments in the piece. Giuliano’s (Dorney) Barbie moment will forever live in my head rent-free.
The pace of dialogue is always tricky in text-heavy plays. This is where I took issue with the show. This kind of comedy depends on a great understanding of timing. Throughout the piece, I feel that it lacked snap. There were set-ups left lingering too long. Punchlines fell flat because they weren’t given within the proper window to get the desired laugh.
Yarbrough was tasked with a difficult job. Lydia is a character that can be fiery from time to time, but she’s quite contemplative throughout the show. All around her are these bigger-than-life characters. She has to maintain command as the lead without losing that reflective quietness. Unfortunately, her performance read a tad flat from time to time. There were moments when she simply didn’t feel present.
Although it was written in 2002, this show still feels extremely current. Hip Pocket does a solid job of conveying those themes and offering plenty of fantastic performances along the way.
RUNNING: Through September 29th, 2024
VENUE: Hip Pocket Theatre, 1950 Silver Creek Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76108
TICKETS: https://www.hippocket.org/