Writers Theatre's diverse cast puts an intriguing spin on 'The Scene'
“You're a real piece of work.”
That observation - so often uttered as a backhanded compliment - occurs twice in “The Scene,” Theresa Rebeck's caustic dramedy about one man's midlife crisis and subsequent downward spiral now running at Writers Theatre in Glencoe.
Both times it's directed at Clea, a vacuous, yet irresistible young woman recently arrived from Ohio, who's dipping her well-shod feet into Manhattan's celebrity scene.
Both times it's delivered by Charlie - a once promising, now perpetually unemployed actor around whom the play centers. Initially, he says it derisively. Later, derision is replaced by grudging respect for Clea, who, despite her years, understands far better than he how to navigate this scene.
Clever, scathing and swiftly moving, “The Scene” premiered in 2006 at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville and subsequently ran off-Broadway. While Rebeck references the scourge of celebrity culture, this is essentially the story of a dissatisfied, professionally stymied, forty-something man whose affair with a voracious Millennial wrecks both his marriage and his relationship with his best friend.
The premise is familiar. But director Kimberly Senior puts an intriguing spin on it by assembling a diverse cast dominated by actors of color. As a result, Writers' revival unfolds as something more than the typical midlife crisis drama. Instead, in the hands of the ever-astute Senior, “The Scene” becomes an arresting meditation on the end of white, male hegemony.
The action unfolds on Brian Sidney Bembridge's sleek urban set comprised of acrylic glass and steel cubes. In this “glass house,” everything is transparent. Almost. The truth, of course, is rarely readily apparent.
Mark L. Montgomery plays the tetchy, frustrated Charlie, the only Caucasian among Senior's shrewdly cast quartet. La Shawn Banks plays his supportive best friend Lewis. Charin Alvarez is Charlie's highly successful wife, Stella. A talent booker for a TV talk show, Stella hates her job, but keeps it because it finances their upper-middle-class lifestyle and their efforts to adopt a baby. Deanna Myers plays Midwest transplant Clea, who favors body-hugging little black dresses and high-heeled, bondage-style footwear.
Charlie and Lewis meet the seemingly shallow Clea - who possesses the intellectual acuity and speech stylings of a junior high schoolgirl - at a posh party thrown by an actor friend of Charlie's.
While Clea's mindless chatter repels Charlie, Lewis is bemused, gazing at her with an expression of indulgent condescension men reserve for young women with whom they want to have sex.
Ultimately Clea proves as intoxicating as the copious amount of alcohol these characters consume. Despite their initial disdain for her, both men succumb. And everyone suffers, especially Stella, whose husband criticizes her for being too competent (a classic complaint from a deeply insecure man).
Rebeck's characters could use some fleshing out. Lewis in particular feels underwritten, and his second act confession, a convenient plot device, comes out of nowhere. The likable Banks, however, is quietly thoughtful as the consoling best friend. Cycling convincingly from outrage to desperation, Alvarez is heartbreakingly authentic as the betrayed wife.
Myers reveals in deliciously subtle ways how savvy a social climber Clea is. Some of the production's most compelling moments occur when she momentarily drops the facade, modifies her syntax and vocal timbre to reveal the calculating woman behind the sex kitten. Kudos.
And kudos to Montgomery, a fine actor who delivers an explosive performance as the defensive, discontented Charlie. Bowed by failure and envy, Montgomery's Charlie stalks the stage like a caged animal, railing against soulless popular culture, condemning the entertainment industry's embrace of mediocrity, yet desperate for the acclaim from the public that consumes it.
Charlie's time, the time of the upper-middle-class white male, has come and gone. Montgomery's performance suggests Charlie realizes that.
Ultimately, Montgomery's combination of self-awareness and self-revulsion is a real piece of work, and there's nothing backhanded about that compliment.
“The Scene”
★ ★ ★
Location: Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, (847) 242-6000 or
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday through April 2. Also 3 p.m. March 15 and 29. No 6 p.m. show March 12, 19 and April 2. March 12 evening performance starts at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $35-$80
Running time: About two hours, 10 minutes with intermission
Parking: Street parking available
Rating: For adults; includes sexual situations, strong language, some violence