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A CurtainUp Review
The City of Conversation

"One of the nice things, I always believed, about Georgetown, was the way we all used to lay down our arms at the end of the day and become convivial".—Hester
The City of Conversation
Kristen Bush as Anna Fitzgerald and Jan Maxwell as Hester Ferris (Photo by Stephanie Berger)
Anthony Guardina's The City of Conversation is one of those plays that hook you in, and keep you interested and entertained throughout. So much so, that it's not until the actors have taken their well-deserved bows you find yourself picking at its little and big inconsistencies and shortcomings.

Lincoln Center certainly hasn't missed a trick in terms of giving its audiences a fine two hours of theater. Their production of this three decade spanning topical drawing room room drama is as close to the kind of lavishly staged, old-fashioned three-act, beginning, middle and end plays most theatrical enterprises can't afford to do any more. No skimping on actors, and all nine of them are top of the line, from the ideally cast star down to its delightful six-year-old

The drawing room in this case is an elegant Georgetown mansion by that master of to die-for decor, John Lee Beatty. To flavor it with historic authenticity the townhouse's doyenne is a fictionalized mashup of legendary hostesses with the mostest like Perle Mesta, Pamela Harriman, Sally Quinn and Katherine Graham. These hostesses and their style of using congenial gatherings to bring those on opposites of the aisle together have become as much past DC history, as new works with this kind of large cast, an interesting neatly plotted story and meaningful dialogue have become a rarity in today's theater.

With Mr. Giardina's behind-the-scenes string puller of a decidedly liberal persuasion (clearly also the author's), conflict is established by having Maxwell's Hester Ferris's beloved son Colin (Michael Simpson, who also ably tackles the role of her adult grandson) fall in love with Anna Fitzgerald (a wonderfully bitchy Kristin Bush), a young woman who matches her future mother-in-law's drive and ambition but not her politics.

The playwright loses no time igniting the antagonism between the two women. Anna and Colin's arrival coincides with a dinner party conservative Kentucky senator and his wife (John Aylward and Barbara Garrick). It's purpose is to win his support for a Teddy Kennedy presidential ticket, with a VP spot for her married lover Senator Chandler Harris (a genial Kevin O'Rourke).

By the time Anna has shown her All About Eve colors by making that dinner serve her purpose (a job with the Senator) instead of Hester's the battle lines are drawn. And, yes, we're hooked in and ready to push aside questions like the business about a woman who gives all these dinner parties, refusing to have food in the house and why her widowed sister (the funny and endearing Beth Dixon) stands still for this, not to mention allowing herself to be treated as much like a maid as a valued aide-de-camp.

The effect of the parallel changes on the political landscape between 1987 and 2009 and on the Ferris family's personal relations continues to bubble and boil even though the focus on the political takes a more personal and rather too schematic turn culminating in a shamelessly get-out-your-handkerchief finale.

What keeps us engaged, despite the unanswered questions and too manufactured plot developments is of course Ms. Maxwell. She's divinely glamorous, touchingly unable to translate her dinner table diplomacy to her relationship with her son and grandson. The playwright is clearly likening the Ferris family's inability to lay down at the end of the day "and become convivial" to the hostile climate currently permeating Washington. But somehow, it makes her more stubborn than impassioned and not really more sympathetic than her daughter-in-law.

Maxwell's masterful transformation from a vibrant fifty-something to a sad, angry and yet still feisty old lady is remarkable, even if it makes for more questions and quibbles. Would Hester really make herself available to be her grandchild Ethan's (the excellent youngnLuke Niehaus)prime baby sitter? If so, did she finally fill up the refrigerator? The grandson's lifestyle is, alas, a bit too pat a way to bring this conversation full circle with a big hug and this play's smoking gun, a red ball. And while Beth Dixon's Jean is a welcome presence throughout, a Clinton-related joke is out of synch with her character and comes off as a cheap shot for an extra zinger.

Add to the already mentioned resources Lincoln Center has provided to insure this play's success, Catherine Zuber's costumes, Tyler Micoleu's lighting and Mark Bennet's original music and sound. And, oh yes, instead of the usual Lincoln Center Theater Review for both the Vivian Beaumont and Mitzi Newhouse offerings, with lots of informative background articles, including one by historian Sally Bedell Smith that explains that the title was inspired by Henry James's observation that Washington was "a city of conversation."

The City of Conversation by Anthony Giardina
Directed by Doug Hughes
Cast: John Aylward (George Mallonee), Phillip James Brannon (Donald Logan), Kristen Bush (Anna Fitzgerald), Beth Dixon (Jean Swift), Barbara Garrick (Carolyn Mallonee), Jan Maxwell (Hester Ferris), Luke Niehaus (Ethan Ferris, age 6), Kevin O’Rourke (Chandler Harris) and Michael Simpson (Colin Ferris/Ethan Ferris, age 27).
Sets by John Lee Beatty
Costumes by Catherine Zuber
Lighting by Tyler Micoleau
Original music and sound by Mark Bennett
Stage Manager: James FitzSimmons
Running Time: 2 Hours
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater 150 West 65th Street
From 4/10/14; opening 5/05/14; closing 7/06/14
Tuesday-Saturday at 8 PM with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2 PM and Sunday at 3 PM.
Tickets from $77 to $87
Reviewed by Elyse Sommer at May 7th press performance
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