“The Actress” at The Snug dives into Diva life with flair
MARINE CITY, Mich. – The intimate seating and stage arrangement at The Snug Theatre is ideally suited for a production like The Actress by Peter Quilter, which takes place in the dressing room of an aging but popular stage icon who has decided to retire at the top of her game. But can she really leave it all behind
Lydia Martin (played by Connie Cowper) has graced the stage her entire adult life, and indeed knows nothing else. But she has recently become engaged to an elderly and wealthy European banker, Charles (Al Bartlett), who wants to move her to Switzerland. On the evening of her farewell performance, Lydia’s dressing room is visited by family, friends and colleagues, not all of whom are there to wish her well.
Lydia’s caring but sarcastic adult daughter, Nicole (Amy Morrisey), wants to know why Lydia would want to live in Switzerland. When Lydia mentions snow and chocolate, the seed of doubt that Lydia will actually go through with her plan is planted. Nicole’s father and Lydia’s ex-husband, Paul (Mike Trudel), makes an appearance as well, trying to convince Lydia that they still belong together. Despite her repeated insistence that she disdains Paul and never wants to see him again, he makes passionate overtures, to which Lydia briefly succumbs before regaining her composure and renewed commitment to her plan to move away with Charles.
And what is it about Charles that has persuaded Lydia to leave the theatre? Well, he is very rich, and very devoted to Lydia. There may be some passion as well, which Lydia halfheartedly defends to Nicole, but no one is convinced, especially when Charles appears each time huffing and red-faced from the stairs.
But Lydia never wavers in her insistence that retirement and marriage are what she wants. That actually pleases the company manager Margaret (Nancy Mitchell), who hovers around the dressing room attempting to give Lydia some last-minute notes from the director, and maybe to snatch something of Lydia’s as a “souvenir.” Lydia’s agent Harriet (Nancy Penvose) also comes, bearing a cheap gift but sincere praise. Harriet actually has something to lose with Lydia’s retirement, and makes a plea for Lydia to stay. Lydia’s resolve remains firm.
The one person who seems comfortable with Lydia’s retirement and never tries to talk her out of it is her dresser and assistant Katherine (Mandy Logsdon), who is all-business with Lydia and anticipates her every need. But when Lydia leaves the room, Katherine admits to Nicole that there will always be another actress for her to serve and another dressing room for her to organize.
After Lydia makes her farewell speech to thunderous applause, and after a few more celebratory drinks, we learn what Lydia really thinks of Margaret, and what Harriet really thinks of Lydia. Lydia and Charles even have some words, and Paul sees a final opportunity to convince Lydia to stay.
I won’t reveal Lydia’s final decision, but the real attraction of The Actress, directed here by Susan Craves, is not necessarily the plot or Lydia’s decision; it is the relationships between Lydia and the other characters. An actress playing an actress is not easy to pull off, but Cowper convinces the audience she is just enough diva to be both admired and resented. With just a few lines, we learn a lot about the history of Lydia’s relationship with Nicole. Lydia accuses her of being unpleasant, which Nicole insists is just being factual, and Lydia can’t resist telling Nicole to wash her hair more often. But it is understood that this is how they say they love each other.
Lydia’s volatile relationship with Paul is summed up as seven years of marriage and seven years of no sleep, which invigorated Paul but wearied Lydia, and it seems apparent that what their relationship lacked is what attracts Lydia to Charles. The simmering resentment that exists between on-stage performers and their business personnel is played out well here also.
Cowper does a lovely job remaining casually and comfortably in character, especially considering she remains on stage nearly the entire show. Trudel is every inch the swaggering, confident ladies’ man. Logsdon reveals Katherine’s character more through her actions than dialogue. Logsdon actually gets into character well before the show opens, and remains perpetually busy in the background as the other characters play out their relationships. The way she subtly begins packing up and cleaning out Lydia’s things while the rest are trying to convince her to stay is a metaphor for the true conflict in the story.
Early in the show, Lydia tells Nicole that actresses rarely know how they really feel; otherwise they would have no need to play someone else. The question that The Actress tries to answer is: does Lydia finally know how she really feels? The ending may or may not be what you expect, but it does answer the question.
The Actress is something of a drama, comedic at times, but mostly it is a character study of relationships and choices.