Deirdre O'Connell plays a cancer victim in playwright Andrea Lepcio's 'Looking for the Pony.'
A Vital Theater Company presentation of a play in one act by Andrea Lepcio. Directed by Stephan Golux.
Eloisa - J. Smith-Cameron
Lauren - Deirdre O'Connell
Man - Debargo Sanyal
Woman - Lori Funk
It's not easy to criticize a play about cancer, but sometimes it's necessary: Andrea Lepcio's tenderhearted, emptyheaded four-hander offers little besides schmaltzy platitudes and unpleasant caricatures of everyone who is not our hero (a writer, of course) or her sister, who is dying of breast cancer. But (and it's a large "but," thankfully) J. Smith-Cameron and Deirdre O'Connell are so wonderful in the lead roles that the piece remains watchable, even occasionally moving.
"Abandon all hope for a better past," Lauren (O'Connell) instructs her reflective sister Eloisa (Smith-Cameron). The siblings are busy examining the minutiae of Eloisa's guilt at not having been a better sister when Lauren was in need.
This is driving Eloisa to over-commit to Lauren right when she most needs to work on her own problems, namely the impending trials of graduate school under the tutelage of a famous, unnamed writer (Debargo Sanyal). This is just one of many roles played by Sanyal, each with a corresponding accent -- which is exactly as amusing as it sounds.
The writer, Lauren's assistant (Lori Funk, another multi-roled performer), and various doctors, nurses and friends are all performed by Sanyal and Funk with an extreme degree of silliness. Occasionally this works (Funk is funnier than Sanyal), but frequently it suggests that Eloisa, and by extension, Lepcio, sees the world as a collection of cartoonish misfits surrounding the only real people -- herself and her sister.
This is certainly in keeping with the play's depth of insight. Lauren is the best cancer victim in the whole world, never for a moment imposing on her sister or misusing her condition to get sympathy or favors. Eloisa is a little more self-centered, but that's because the world is composed of jerks or monsters (see above).
O'Connell's completely unpretentious performance is the much-needed shot of insulin to the play's insufferable sweetness. She presents Lauren as somebody making the best decisions she can while putting up with her lame-brained sister, rather than as a holy sacrifice to be admired.
This puts the onus pretty heavily on Smith-Cameron, who absolutely rises to the challenge. In her hands, Eloisa is vain, a little frustrated by the world in general, but basically goodhearted. The two thesps add measureless depth to a deeply unpromising premise.
Someone should probably sit down with helmer Stephan Golux and costumer Matthew Hemesath and gently explain to them what a mastectomy is -- O'Connell spends the entire play, pre- and post-op, wearing a low-cut blouse, and faces stage right when she and her sister are examining her missing breast (which is clearly still there). There are a lot of little flubs like this in "Looking for the Pony."
There's never a bad reason to see O'Connell or Smith-Cameron on stage, but this play comes dangerously close.
Set, Adam Koch; costumes, Matthew Hemesath; lighting, Aaron Copp; sound, Jessica Paz; production stage manager, Bernita Robinson. Opened Jan. 26, 2009. Reviewed Jan. 24. Running time: 1 HOUR, 40 MIN.
Contact Sam Thielman at
sam.thielman@variety.com
Date in print: Wed., Jan. 28, 2009