‘Parallel Lives’, the two-actor revival at Allentown Pulbic Theatre, explores the range of the American woman’s experience with a heavy dose of comedy generated by and for the New York City sophisticate.
The show itself is a series of unrelated vignettes in which two actresses play numerous characters.
Samantha Beedle performs the role of the actor/comedienne ‘Mo’, and Jennifer Star Foley that of ‘Kathy’.
Experienced New York comediennes and actresses Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy wrote the script, and Joshua Neth, assisted by Felix Mayes, directed.
The show opens with two angels designing the world. They decide to have two sexes, but they have trouble assigning responsibility for having babies.
After some discussion, they decide to give this function to the female. Since the men will have an insignificant role in the world, they give men huge egos so they will not feel insignificant.
To keep the women from getting too wrapped up in their importance, the angels make childbirth painful.
Moving on, they express concern that white people will feel bad about being such a a bland color. They decide to let their decision stand and to let the white people deal with it.
The show has begun.
The vignettes used a complex set of characters that needed the TV warning, “Never do this at home; this should only be attempted by trained professionals.” The vignettes tested the skills of the actors with the wide diversity of characters they needed to play.
Beedle and Foley were always believable whether they were playing a pair of lower middle class Italian teenagers in the Bronx, or a couple of lesbian actresses performing a paean to women that was a play-within this play.
Perhaps the most striking thing in their performance is that they never came out of character.
In one scene, the two were playing a pair of 40-something Jewish women who decided to fill their free time by completing a major in women studies.
About half-way through the vignette, Kathy’s wig and hat flew off, and they covered by acting as if Kathy was “bald” and they needed to help her hide it. (I thought it was a costume malfunction, but by the time they finished fixing it, I thought it might have been in the script. I am tempted to see the show again just to see if the wig still flies off.)
If you are a fan of fine acting, do not miss this pair’s performance.
The action is staged on a narrow platform with minimal set pieces. John Mann and John Meckes built it with charming painting added by Marcie Schlener. Schlener also did the costume design. The sound was prepared by Dan Sottile, who found an atrocious, but scene appropriate, rendition of Mozart’s “Queen of the Night” aria from The Magic Flute.
The Allentown Public Theatre will offer this show through April 7, Thursday through Sunday at the Antonio Salemme Foundation. Tickets are the same price at the door and online: Adults, $20; Students, $15, Thursday nights for All, $12. Group rates: For 8 or more people, $10 each.