By James V. Ruocco
The play: "Queen of Basel."
Where: TheaterWorks/Hartford.
Playwright: Hilary Bettis.
Setting: South Beach, Miami during an international art fair showcasing and exhibiting art from prominent art collectors, artists, curators and museum directors.
Primary Location: The action of the play is set in a cluttered, messy kitchen/storage room at a posh, luxury hotel. Outside the kitchen, a swank party is taking place with members of the art world's upper-class patrons.
Inspiration: A modern day telling of power, privilege, oppression, race, prejudice, sexual flirtation and hypocrisy that takes its cue from Swedish playwright August Strindberg's 19th century chamber drama "Miss Julie."
The characters: Julie, Christine, John.
Character breakdown: Julie, the attractive, outspoken daughter of the hotel's owner who wanders into the kitchen after getting her green Oscar de la Renta designer gown soaked in gin - the result of a spilled drink tray that leaves her shaken and hiding from the paparazzi.
Christine, a Venezuelan cocktail waitress (in actuality, a South American refugee who hopes to get the rest of her family, including her five-year-old daughter over to Florida) who comes to Julie's aid after accidentally spilling drinks all over her.
John, a handsome uber driver with plans to set up his own HVAC business who is Christine's boyfriend (he's originally introduced to help Julie escape the prying eyes of the paparazzi) and later has sexual intercourse with Julie once his partner leaves the kitchen and heads back to the party.
Does the play work: Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.
The playwright: Bettis, as storyteller, crafts an interesting, talky, but flawed drama that despite its energetic, invigorating premise and emotional dynamic either disconnects, falls flat or doesn't always live up to its promised potential.
There's edge. There's drama. There's heat. There's conversation. There's vulnerability. There's madness. There's shock. There's crisis. There's truth. There's collapse.
Given the play's length - 90 minutes with no interval - sometimes one's attention wanders or prompts too many glances at one's watch, the playbill or those seated around you. Things, of course, jump back on track as the playwright delivers some weighty verbiage and melodrama laced with real edge, real excitement and real entrapment. She also crafts a trio of interesting, important characters as "Queen of Basel" moves forward toward its preachy, justified conclusion. However, her decision to have the character of Christine off stage for more than 20 minutes during the second half of the play is puzzling. Yes, it's a creative choice, but the character is missed - really missed.
The direction: At TheaterWorks, "Queen of Basel" is being staged by Christina Angeles. In steady command of the piece, she works hard to make sense of the play's turbulent emotions, its full-house tilt and swerve, its evident preachiness and its steady ache and scuttle. But she's no miracle worker.
When the dialogue or situation at hand becomes strained and ineffective, there's really nothing she can do. Still, she plunges forward prompted by fresher, well-positioned moments - the seduction of Julie by John; the return of Christine, for example - that works surprisingly well and gives the production a blistering sting, a dramatic anchor and an appointed, narrative mouthpiece.
The use of Spanish language is also well implemented by both the playwright and the director with John, acting as interpreter during Christine's numbing dialogue (a backstory of sorts) near the end of the play. It's a theatrical device that (these are no subtitles) adds a certain resonance to the story and its racial identity.
The performances: As Julie, Christine Spang delivers a taut, fiery dramatic performance of rich girl entitlement invested in rampaging chaos, vocal authority and well-played emotion. As "Queen of Basel" evolves, she brings heightened emotion, conflict and realistic passion to the production.
Silvia Dionicio, as Christine, locates a thrilling buzz within the characterization that allows her to carry the role far beyond its involved expectation. So much so that when the script dictates Christine to drift off stage, one eagerly awaits her very next entrance. But when she returns, the actress, in a riveting turn, delivers a lengthy monologue about personal loss, which up until this point, she chose to keep hidden.
The perfect choice to play John, Kelvin Grullon is a charismatic leading player who communicates his character's plight, sneer, sexiness and existing language with bite, range and deepening personal element. Acting wise, he finds real nuance and color in the role, imbued with steamy motivation, ripened complexity and straightforward thrust.
Photos of "Queen of Basel" courtesy of Mike Marques.
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