by Nora and Delia Ephron
Directed by Karen Carpenter
A Michael Rubinoff and Daryl Roth Presentation
at the Panasonic Theatre
July 21-September 4, 2010

   Some of it sounds like stand-up comedy routines—even though the five women are seated on chairs in front of reading stands. “Any American woman under 40 who says she’s never dressed like Madonna is either lying or Amish.” Zing. Or “Sometimes I buy something that isn’t black and I put it on and I’m so sorry.” Even if uttered with a hush on the final clause, the sentence is funny. And then there are the anecdotes: about bras, boobs, butts, boots, purses, closets, and fitting rooms where nothing seems to fit—as in “But I’m an 8. I’ve always been an 8.” Some anecdotes are not funny because they have a serious twist to them about rape or the loss of love. It’s as if the authors (the Ephron sisters compiling and shaping anecdotes and reflections from Ilse Beckerman’s original chick lit book) have found little cries in the middle of laughter in the female throat. 

   Call it chick legit, and though it is primarily aimed at women, this show generates entertainment that cuts across gender and age—especially because of the quintet of performers who are stars of variable magnitude.* About the only one relatively unknown to me is Paula Brancati, but that’s because I am not a television addict, and certainly not a devotee of Degrassi High or Being Erica—two hit Canadian shows. Brancati brings youth and her exuberance to the material, though she sometimes presses too hard for effect. Not that the other four ladies are exactly reserved. Sharron Mattthews is a multi-tasker on stage, in film, on television, and in cabarets. One of her shows is called Sharron Matthews Superstar: World Domination Tour 2010. So this should give you some idea of  her wicket wit and sauciness. And she scores in Love, Loss …with her dead accurate impressions of a Jewish mom and daughter and one half of a lesbian union.

   Mary Walsh, best known for her work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, enjoyed huge success and adulation as the flagrantly outspoken Marg Delahunty who had a field day with Jean Chretien and other deadbeat politicians (of which this nation has a treasure trove across party lines). She spins three hilarious stories: one about trying to become a New Woman in a coarse utility room, another about the embarrassment of suffering a violent period while wearing a paper dress to a fashionable party, and a third about a woman, her incarcerated lover, and a strategic hole in her dress for her prison visits. And she is not a one-note wonder, for she delivers a poignant story about a woman’s mastectomy and the tattoo created for her new chest.

   Andrea Martin needs no special introduction. Her comic talent cuts a wide swath across Canada and the U.S. And she’s probably the only Armenian comic with such widespread appeal, though her comedy has nothing to do with ethnicity. Martin is a mistress of accents and eccentric characters, and she is supremely funny as she sounds like a butch Carol Channing going on about a $6000 Kelly bag. Martin also shines in a touching monologue that is a bittersweet retrospective about a favourite lost white shirt. Louise Pitre, that incredibly talented platinum blonde who can be sexy without even trying, sounds various tropes of emotion, but she has a distinct advantage in this department because she gets to play the same character at different stages of her feminine development. Her Gingy gets to narrate her adolescent and youthful hormonal storms, three marriages, child bearing, and the death of a child, so the character gets a natural curve.  

   Love, Loss and What I Wore doesn’t set a new direction for monologues or chick theatre, but it does consolidate what has already been achieved by The Vagina Monologues. The staging (by Karen Carpenter) is minimalist but clean and precise. The tone is wryly self-deprecating. And the five women are “killers,” whether they are commenting on killer outfits or killjoys, mournful memories or mirthful misadventures. The show will score best with women but men will laugh out loud as well, though with guilty pleasure.

  *Wendy Crewson, Cynthia Dale, Lauren Collins, and Margot Kidder will be featured in the show, August 10-September 4: Wendy Crewson, Cynthia Dale, Lauren Collins, and Margot Kidder

photo: Cylla von Tiedemann

pic (L-R): Louise Pitre, Mary Walsh, Andrea Martin, Sharron Matthews, Paula Brancati




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