Into the Breeches!
My thoughts on Into the Breeches! or…the happy few
Watching Into the Breeches! written by George Brant and directed by Lisa Devine, I was reminded of the World War II era films I admire so much. You know, the ones like “Mrs. Miniver” and “Since You Went Away." They’re the ones you like to curl up on the sofa and watch on TCM on a rainy Sunday afternoon. They’re the ones with strong female leads who persevere through the hardships of war and bring hope to everyone in their circle.
Into the Breeches! brings all the satisfying elements of those films to the stage. It’s 1942 and the Oberon Playhouse is bereft of its director and almost all of its male actors who are fighting overseas. The director’s wife embarks on mounting an all female production of Shakespeare’s Henriad (this usually includes all the Henry history plays but here only Henry IV and V). Of course, with all the different personalities involved, complications and conflicts arise and form the plot of Into the Breeches! It’s all familiar territory. However, Brant’s characters, although often stereotypical, are well developed and endearing.
Director Devine made some excellent choices casting her “band of sisters.” Kim Harris is Maggie Dalton, wife of the director. She feels that it is her duty to keep her husband’s passion for the theater alive in his absence. Harris is the very picture of strength and determination as Maggie. To be her “star,” Maggie enlists the talented Celeste Fielding, a diva past her “Juliet” prime, played by Mary-Margaret Pyeatt. Pyeatt’s Celeste is a commanding presence and unused to being a team player. Also recruited are June Bennett, a gung-ho, appealing novice who is ready to perform, played by Lexa Childress and the very talented but not used to the spotlight Grace Richards played by Natalie Hinds.
Stan Graner is the crusty board member of the theater Ellsworth Snow who is appalled by Maggie’s idea until his wife Winifred played by Darise Error wants to join the cast. Graner and Error are a comical take on an older married couple still able to surprise each other. Error gets the lion’s share of the evening’s laughs as Winifred becomes Falstaff and Graner’s Ellsworth is a hoot supporting his wife by getting into drag to attend the performance.
Maggie’s stage manager is the young, gay Stuart Lasker played by Matthew Good who spends quite a lot of time in drag as well and knows how to deliver a one liner. Ida Green, the play’s costume designer and the sole Black character is played by the charismatic Anell Rey. Lasker becomes Mistress Quickly in the play and Green is Hotspur.
Joseph Cummings’ set design is minimal but effective and the framed proscenium is a nice touch. Michael A. Robinson/Dallas Costume Shoppe’s costumes capture the era and Lisa Miller’s lighting is outstanding as is the sound by Tully Hall.
Director Devine brings a gentle tone to the play and masterfully reveals the strengths, both apparent and hidden, of the characters she clearly admires.
I found Into the Breeches! to be a poignant and absorbing war time story. There is much humor but even more heart in the play. It is exceedingly well acted and when Natalie Hinds as Grace delivers the famous St. Crispin’s Day speech it is a thrilling, transcendent moment of theater. Join these “happy few” in this heartwarming and uplifting journey Into the Breeches! through March 22.
Photography by Kris Ikejiri
