Mud
Wandering Rom Players' production of Maria Irene Fornes' Mud might induce flashbacks in Fringe regulars. Way back when, there was Big House productions, a company that took on difficult plays, set them in evocative spaces such as crumbling basements, featured them at the Fringe, and collected reviews that glowed like fireflies in a jar. Welcome to Big House 2.0.
Mud. Wandering Rom Players' production of Maria Irene Fornes' Mud might induce flashbacks in Fringe regulars. Way back when, there was Big House productions, a company that took on difficult plays, set them in evocative spaces such as crumbling basements, featured them at the Fringe, and collected reviews that glowed like fireflies in a jar. Welcome to Big House 2.0.
Director Brenna Geffers tears at the flesh of Fornes' Beckett-worthy trio: Mae (Megan Hoke) and Lloyd (Robert DaPonte), pig farmers and "mates," who drag a visitor, Henry (Joe Canuso), down into the slop of their debased lives. Geffers quickly lays to rest any fears of art-school pretentiousness, as Hoke delivers a memorable performance, somehow maintaining her dignity amidst men who grab at her and stroke themselves like caged apes. Canuso and DaPonte are able to tap into their characters' absurdities and, as a result, keep the production from sinking in misanthropic muck.
The spare set - a musty concrete church basement - and flashbulb-glare lighting don't quite match Big House designer Hiroshi Iwasaki's aesthetic of minimalist ambience, but that seems to be where they'd like to end up. Give them time, they're young. In the meantime, we can have the pleasure of watching them develop. - Wendy Rosenfield