Theater usually gets a bad rap from college students. More interested in drinking or nights out on the town, students frequently ignore perfectly good plays that are actually not that dorky or just for the artsy intellectuals. Why bother with $5 pints, when the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Va. offers a play with full frontal nudity and is solely about the pre- and post-coital interactions between 10 couples.
A cast of two - Deborah Hazlett and Rick Holmes - play all the characters, switching clothes and accents as they shift from character to character. "The Blue Room," which is playwright David Hare's modern adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's "La Ronde," depicts a "daisy chain" of sexual encounters between the characters. The characters progress up the social ladder, increasing their status, as the stories unfold.
Hazlett and Holmes tackle the story with vigor and show no shame about approaching a rather taboo topic in an intimate theater filled mostly with senior citizens. The two manage to transfer the story seamlessly from character to character, although the use of British accents - which presumable help us to differentiate between the characters - are inconsistent.
While the performances are well conceived and nicely executed, it is the staging that sets this play apart. The stage is bare except for a large circular construct that represents the circular nature of the story, and the sets for each scene are minimal - usually consisting of solely a bed or a chair. The most imaginative aspect of the staging, however, is the use of a lighting fixture that descends in each scene to signify the nature of encounter. The first, a street lamp, reveals the encounter between a prostitute and a cab driver, while a later candelabra sheds light on the relationship between a playwright and a model.
The minimal approach to the play's appearance both contrasts and supports the simplicity of the subject. A sexual encounter on its own is rather simple; it is the before and after that complicates it. "The Blue Room," directed by Wendy C. Goldberg, is an intriguing and witty play that contains surprising depth considering the subject matter. Or, if you don't care for the wit and artsy ponderings, you could go for the nudity, which is unabashedly presented in full.
"The Blue Room" Signature Theatre 3806 South Four Mile Run Dr. Arlington, Va. off I-395, not Metro accessible Through July 11. Call (703) 218-6500. Tickets range from $22-36.
