The House That Will Not Stand
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Cititour.com Review
It seems only fitting that Marcus Gardley’s “The House That Will Not Stand,” now receiving a powerfully acted production at New York Theatre Workshop, feels like the theatrical equivalent of jambalaya, the saucy, spicy, multi-faceted Creole stew that would have likely been served in the 1815 Louisiana home (gorgeously designed by Adam Rigg) in which this extremely thought-provoking yet often hilarious play is set.
Hardly a conventional work, the piece is a heady mixture of many playwriting styles and themes – a hearty dose of Federico Garcia Lorca’s commentary on women and class (aptly so, as the play is loosely based on his “The House of Bernarda Alba”), a dash of Tennessee Williams’ Southern melodrama, a pinch of August Wilson’s magical realism – all blended with a mostly firm yet occasionally unsteady hand by Gardley.
To the author’s immense credit, every character is worth investing our time in, he creates a believable family dynamic, and serves up some incredibly important information about a specific, rarely-talked-about time in American history. (The play is set on the eve on Louisiana Purchase, which would change the status of all the state’s free men and women of color.)
But, like some less-than-perfect jambalayas I’ve tasted, some of the most important ingredients end up playing second fiddle to those with more robust flavors, and one sometimes wishes – even when laughing uproariously – that the excellent director Lileana Blain-Cruz had stirred the proverbial pot just a bit harder to achieve a finer balance.
Mind you, there’s no actual cooking shown in “The House That Will Not Stand,” although the plot is set in motion by the death of 72-year-old Lazare Albans, who has choked on a fish bone and (as we later learn) given no aid from Beatrice (the fabulous Lynda Gravatt, a potent cocktail of gravitas, menace and bitterness), his longtime mistress and mother of his three daughters.
Sticking to tradition (as well as other later-to-be-realized motives), Beatrice has ordered that all members of the house remain there in mourning, meaning that her three girls, the hormone-filled Agnes (an excellent Nedra McClyde), the ultra-religious Maude Lynn (a fine Juliana Canfield) and the seemingly obedient but ultimately rebellious Odette (a superb Joneice Abbott-Pratt) will once again be denied the chance of going to the town’s masked ball and becoming a placee (the mistress of a rich white man). And with the U.S. on the verge of owning Louisiana, as Madame’s arch-frenemy La Veuve (an amusing Marie Thomas) reminds her, the ball may be the last chance for the Albans’ girls to retain their freedom and avoid being sold into slavery.
Freedom is also foremost on the minds of the two other women in the household: Beatrice’s possibly mad younger sister Marie (a mesmerizing Michelle Wilson), who still longs for her long-dead lover, and the Albans’ longtime servant, Makeda (the electrifying Harriet D. Foy in a consistently show-stopping performance), who comes to realize that Lazare’s death (and Madame’s subsequent inheritance of the house) might allow her to become a free woman as well. Their big scene together, in which Makeda allows herself to be possessed by Lazare’s spirit at Marie’s request, is among the show’s highlights.
Who will ultimately escape Beatrice’s house -- and whether it will even remain standing -- are mysteries wisely left unsolved until the play’s final minutes. But you may not even be thinking about the play’s conclusion, since you will likely be swallowing every tantalizing morsel that leads up to it.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://www.nytw.org/show/house-will-not-stand
Cast
Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Juliana Canfield, Harriett D. Foy, Lynda Gravátt, Nedra McClyde, Marie Thomas, Michelle Wilson
Open/Close Dates
Opening 7/30/2018
Closing 8/19/2018
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 7/11/2018
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-460-5475
Theatre Info
New York Theatre Workshop
79 East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
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