Fabel Directs Fantastic Foursome in 'Fabuloso'

Fabuloso                                                                                                             

by John Kolvenbach

Directed by Kyle Fabel, Scenery Designed by Campbell Baird, Costumes Designed by Deborah Newhall, Lighting Designed by Paul Hackenmueller, Stage Manager Emily F. McMullen, Assistant Stage Manager, Peter Crewe

Featuring Rebecca Harris, Ed Jewett, Amy Kim Waschke, Jeremiah Wiggins

Performances through January 31 at Merrimack Repertory Theatre                                        Box Office 978-654-4678 or www.merrimackrep.org

Henry David Thoreau was prescient when he wrote in his essay Economy, that "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," suggesting that they are slaves to their work and enslaved to their overseers. As true as it was in his day, the modern family often has two people who are in that position, if they are fortunate enough to have dual incomes, but who are all the more mired due to the threat of unemployment and the vagaries of the recession. Not many of us, when asked to describe our lives, would use the term "fabuloso." Yet, given the chance to trade our quiet, workaday existence for an unpredictable world of laughter and chaos, would we take the leap? This is the question posed by John Kolvenbach in Fabuloso, the story of two very different couples learning how to live together under one roof with outrageous results.

In a series of fast-paced, quick scene cuts that stylistically resemble a movie, Kolvenbach invites us to get to know four distinctive characters, first as a wacky quartet who stays up too late and drinks too much, and later as individuals struggling to find meaning and comfort in their own skins. Teddy (Jeremiah Wiggins) and Arthur (Ed Jewett) are drawn with intricate detail, enhanced by the performances of the two actors. Kate (Rebecca Harris) and Samantha (Amy Kim Waschke) are given fewer dimensions by the playwright, but the actresses work hard to flesh them out and humanize them beyond their idiosyncrasies. Director Kyle Fabel masterfully translates the script from page to stage, a challenging feat given Kolvenbach's "scoring" - the use of italics, punctuation, capitalization, and brackets to imply tone of voice and timing.

Currently playing at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Fabuloso is a smart and engaging comedy which promotes the themes that life is what you make it and it's never too late, but don't dismiss alternative lifestyles and creating a family of choice as considerations. Teddy, a children's soccer coach, and Kate, a bank employee, have been married eight years and live uneventfully in a one-bedroom apartment. Out of the blue and twenty years since they last had contact, Teddy's childhood friend Arthur shows up in the middle of the night with his fiancée Samantha and a mound of luggage which implies more than a weekend visit. It turns out that Arthur was not merely a friend, but had been taken in as an orphan by Teddy's family for about five years from the age of thirteen. Arthur hopes to return to the fold and make his home with Teddy once again, to recapture the happiness and security he felt living with him in their youth.

At the outset, Kate's conscientiousness and Teddy's fears and floundering determine their placid lifestyle. Their world and their living room are turned upside down by the arrival and stay (and stay, and stay, and stay) of the couple who came to dinner, as it were. Arthur is an overgrown, hedonistic little boy with a severe Peter Pan complex. His behavior is infuriating, yet endearing, like an untrained puppy that raises your ire when he wets the carpet, but wins your heart when he wags his tail or licks your face. His partner in crime Samantha has both a childlike quality and a penchant for knives, but mostly they both want to be loved. In tandem, they provide a no-holds-barred itinerary for living that eventually sweeps Kate and Teddy off their feet. The talent of the MRT cast is evident in the gradual metamorphosis that allows us to accept their serious moments and to believe in Kolvenbach's feel-good ending.

Following the playwright's stage directions, Campbell Baird's set design features a neat, pastel living room with an open kitchen upstage. It is uncluttered, with little to indicate the personalities of its inhabitants. Likewise, Deborah Newhall dresses Teddy and Kate in accord with their occupations (his: t-shirts and shorts or warm-up suit, hers: business attire), except when he dons his wedding suit in anticipation of Arthur's arrival. Sam wears fantastic fashions that combine the sensibilities of fairy godmother, performance artist, and six-year old. No matter how he is clothed, from tuxedo to woman's bathrobe to big, red union suit, Arthur is always ready for a party or an adventure.

Employing a grid of colored bulbs behind a scrim, Paul Hackenmueller's rhythmic lighting sequences with musical accompaniment between scenes imply a pinball effect and offer a metaphorical tie-in with the topsy-turvy new world disorder imposed on the married couple by their unorthodox guests. Yet, it is that very disorder that causes Teddy and Kate to reevaluate their lives, both individually and collectively, and muddle through until they get to a place where they are able to accept a new paradigm. All they have to do is surrender.        

 

 

Photo by Meghan Moore: Rebecca Harris, Amy Kim Waschke, Ed Jewett, Jeremiah Wiggins