The Heidi Chronicles

Two weekends ago I was fortunate enough to stumble onto the opportunity to see one of my favorite plays, The Heidi Chronicles, by one of my favorite playwrights, Wendy Wasserstein, performed at Arena stage in D.C. Due to an unexpected flow of money (it was a bonus from my work in the phonathon!), I was able to splurge on a ticket to see some great D.C. theater, which is something I try to always take advantage of when I can.

This performance delighted me, but also in some ways disappointed me. It was delightful to see a play I know and love come to life, but it seems some things are better left to the imagination. Heidi, for example, was supposed to be charming, witty, sincere, and likeable; however, I found her to be cartoony, fake, simplistic, and annoying. The actress did not succeed in winning me over like she should have. What did win me over were the directorial choices in the "protest" scene, which is a scene I directed last semester in Directing class. The director's choice to have Heidi be so flabbergasted and emotionally stung by Peter's sexuality that she cannot respond properly is perfect! That scene gave me so much trouble before, but now I finally understand Heidi's reactions. (This is so personal it probably does not make much sense! I should focus on ... the set.)

The set was a little garishly square, but it actually seemed to work for the play. At one point during one of Heidi's monologues she describes a piece of art as a square with a cube floating above it, which is ironic because that's exactly how I would describe the set configuration. The cube was a giant four-sided screen onto which various images were projected throughout the play. This quickly and easily located a scene in a place. It was very useful... but perhaps too simple? I did the same thing for my amateur rendition of The Vagina Monologues last year. Projections seem to be the new fad in theater-- not that this is a bad thing. On the contrary, as I have said, I find them quite useful, both as a director and as an audience member. I'm afraid it just might be becoming a bit mundane. Technology is to blame!

Anyway, I really did enjoy the show. Except for the way the director chose to play up the clichéd ending. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the final scene of the play as it is, since it suggests (if you translate it into politics without a rendering) that women who struggle with "having it all" should give up trying to maintain their careers and just have babies. The director chose to paint this scene in total whiteness, including putting Heidi in all white, giving her the appearance of an angel. The lights fade as she gently rocks her little girl. Again, too easy! After all the explosive self-exploring, the emotional rollercoasters, the gains, the setbacks, the director is going to settle for an image of mother and baby in heaven? For a feminist play (did I mention it is a feminist play?) that is a criticism just waiting to happen.

But I'm so glad I got to see it! The performance of Peter was heart wrenching and beautiful, and some of the minor characters really stood out. It was definitely worth it.