Superb acting, brilliant directing and beautiful staging can’t save "Bosoms and Neglect"

By Stephanie Wright Hession
Arts and Culture Writer

With superb acting, the brilliant directing of Joy Carlin and playwright John Guare’s supple gift for language and his sensitive insight into the failings of the human ego, one anticipated that the Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company’s revival production of Guare’s “Bosoms and Neglect” would be totally engrossing.

Unfortunately these factors could not compensate for an outdated script and a story that, while it would make for a meaningful conversation between close friends, is simply too thin to carry an entire play. There’s also the question of how much a contemporary, San Francisco Bay Area audience can relate to a tale that is not just set in 1979 Manhattan but one that focuses primarily on analysis, considering the current affairs of today.

The poignant comedy centers upon 40 something Scooper (Cassidy Brown), his 83-year-old mother Henny (Joan Mankin) and Deirdre (Beth Wilmurt), a fellow patient Scooper has admired for the past 11 months while each waited for their appointments in the lobby of Dr. James, their psychiatrist. It all takes place on J. B. Wilson’s ethereal set, which is first seen with a huge mound of mysterious objects swathed in a Monetish prism, thanks to the gorgeous lighting design of Jon Retsky.

Despite the story’s deficiencies, dramatic events do transpire and shocking surprises await the audience when characters reveal disturbing aspects of themselves.

In the opening scene a curtain parts to reveal a gray brick wall, a massive window adorned with lace curtains and a narrow platform just beneath it, all representing Henny’s apartment. Immediately the audience feels hemmed in and claustrophobic, just as Scooper must feel when dealing with his delusional mother who also possesses a very demanding persona. With these elements of her character revealed, it’s understandable why he's only dealt with her over the phone for the past two years.

To his horror during their first face-to-face visit in as long, he discovers that she’s harbored a life threatening illness during this time and has sought no medical treatment for it . Though the stage is darkened and the audience members don’t actually see anything, Guare’s potent employment of words creates a vivid and ghastly image for them, causing several to cringe.

In another engaging scene, Scooper and Deidre sip wine at her apartment, conveniently located across the street from Dr. James’ office, while mischievously spying on the other patients going to and from their appointments there. They’re both in a tizzy because their psychiatrist is joining the annual August exodus from Manhattan, when the psychiatrists there go on vacation. It’s here the audience discovers how truly neurotic Scooper is when he tells Deidre he was driven to become a patient of Dr. James because he couldn't stand feeling happy. It also turns out that aside from being obsessed with his mother, this awkwardly geeky computer analysis is jetting off to Haiti with his girlfriend-who happens to be married to Scooper’s former college roommate and current business partner.

Deidre, also neurotic, is a lonely, fanatical seller of fine books, which she places in piles throughout her apartment. Scooper adores books too and they bond over their love of literature in a most erotic fashion. However, they also compete with one another by claiming themselves the most legitimate psychiatric patient. She insists her five days per week analysis tops his three days per week-gasp!-therapy, which in her mind is definitely sub par. This leads to a riotous scene full of sexual acrobatics which then transforms into a deeply disturbing, physically violent scene. Despite all of the drama the scene goes on too long.

Adding to Scooper’s already high level of frustration is the fact that his mother is currently in the hospital recovering from surgery, which now threatens his trip to Haiti. Scooper’s convinced that somehow his mother timed her operation to prevent him from going away and enjoying himself. Given her condition, it’s understandable why he would think such a thing. In the second scene, we see Scooper and Henny in her hospital room and the two coping with their uncertain futures.

Joan Mankin gives a haunting, powerful performance as Henny. Cassidy Brown is wonderful as the mother obsessed, tormented geek. Beth Wilmurt brings an elegance and effervescence to her role as Deirdre. Unfortunately their strong performances, Carlin’s marvelous directing and the beautiful staging cannot prevail over an anemic, sluggish plot.

“Bosoms and Neglect,” plays through July 22. The Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. For tickets ($38) call (510) 843-4822 or visit www.autoratheatre.org.