The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder Directed by Damaso Rodriguez, Seattle Rep, through 20 October,
Anyway, Skin of Our Teeth:
I wanted to like this. I SHOULD like it. It ticks a lot of boxes that I grouse and complain about in this space. It is traditional theatre, as opposed to dance troupes and improv groups. It uses talented actors I have seen before on the boards, living up to the "Repertory" part of the name. It has a huge cast in a world where five-person plays push the limits. It has community volunteers on stage. The author is well-known. It won a Pulitzer back in '42. It had a successful revival recently on Broadway. It runs 2 1/2 hours with three full acts, making it a blockbuster in theater terms.
And it landed with a thud for me.
Let me summarize. The Skin of Our Teeth is a the story of the immortal Antrobus family, who represent the human race. Everything is allegory here. George (Carlos Lacamara) is the patriarch, and represents progress and authority. Maggie (Emily Kuroda) is his wife, domesticity and family. Son Henry (Chip Sherman) is violence, daughter Gladys (Rachel Guyer-Mafune) is the future. Their story takes place in three periods where the world is ending, by ice, flood, and war. There is a lot of anachronism and absurdity. The first act takes place as the glaciers are bearing down on the Antrobus's suburban home in New Jersey, where they keep mammoths in the house and invite the great philosophers in for coffee and sandwiches. The most accessible character is the maid, Sabina (Sara Hennessy), who breaks the fourth wall to complain to the audience about the absurdity of the play itself. Allegorically, she is human nature, and is really the main character here.
So first act, threatened with extinction during the Ice Age. Second act, rinse and repeat. Third act comes to the resolution that, in the words of Rosanne Rosannadanna, "It's always something". The program book comes with a handout explaining that we're being non-linear and absurd in places, and that's part of the point.
Plus in the middle of this, the play being presented is plagued (in the script) with mishaps, miscues, and labor troubles, ending in most of the cast breaking character, having some honest moments, and recruiting volunteers to finish the play itself. The last is a good comment on the relationship between play and audience, but with the pacing it just sort of trundles along.
The main actors are fine, but their characters are flat, and only when they break away from them (portraying the actors who are portraying the characters) do they seem to come to life. The secondary tier of support characters are excellent, with callouts to Sunam Ellis as the nervous stage manager and Laura Crotte as the Atlantic City fortune teller. The teeming masses on-stage are pulled from the Rep's Public Works program, and some subscribers get to read quotes towards the end. I like that part.
The stagecraft is excellent. I usually bash on the overproduced nature of these things, but here the collapsing roofs, advancing ice sheets, and arrival of a ferry/ark all work out just fine. Also, a dinosaur and a mammoth. And a hydro race.
Ultimately, all this had more meaning some 80 years ago, and was experimental and engaging in 1942, but now it tends to creak from its age. There were two intermissions, and after each there were more empty seats in the house. The Lovely Bride would never insult the actors by leaving, and I wanted to see if the third act redeems that which came before (it does. A little).
But really, the history of humanity? It all boils down to "It's always something".
More later,
