Looped

While it can be delicious for an actor to chew scenery and toss out bon mots for two hours, if that’s all the play consists of, its disappointing.  And at the seemingly cursed Lyceum Theatre, Valerie Harper is giving a magnificent impersonation of Tallulah Bankhead in Looped, but is ultimately let down by an unfocused play.

Looped recounts a fictionalized version of Bankhead’s notorious looping of a single line over an entire day.  A fervent lush on the way to her alcohol-fueled death, at this point in her career, she was doing whatever it took to pay her bills and garner a modicrum of fame.  Which would have been an interesting character development to explore, but it wasn’t – although there was a recognition of it when Bankhead’s film editor lashes back with “you gave up being an actress to be a celebrity”.

This refrain is quite common today, and it could have launched a really interesting exploration of someone who was clearly exceptionally talented but preferred to be famous.  Given how many talented performers waste their skills in pursuit of paychecks and celebrity, I would have liked to have heard a bit more about that.

But, instead, we get a fabulous litany of zingers and foul language (“There are two kinds of men: the ones who want to fuck me and the ones who want to be me”; “I told Joan Crawford I was having an affair with [her husband] Doug, and that she was going to be next, which she was.  Terrible lay.”) – which I wholeheartedly appreciate, but like an appetizer, its not enough to complete the meal.  Harper meanders drunkenly around the stage in a gorgeous sheer gown, swinging verbally to the delight of the audience.  And she really does it quite well.  The vocal gait of Bankhead is excellently reproduced, and the moments of dramatic development (which are quite weakly constructed) are tenderly played.

(Side note: Given Harper’s excellent performance, and the in-previews Million Dollar Quartet, I’d love to see an ambitious playwright deliver a cocktail-party-based play featuring a meeting of Bankhead, Bette Davis (who took several Bankhead theatre roles to the screen), Joan Crawford and the other belle of the era, Claudette Colbert.  It’d be a theatre queen’s heaven.  Bitch central in the most delightful way.)

Overwhelmed on stage is Brian Hutchison, who’s playing the film’s editor.  The role is meant to be overwhelmed, and the telegraphed revelations about him don’t really bring any surprise.  Hutchison does what he can with the role, but there isn’t enough meat on the menu (continuing my food comparison).  Michael Mulheren has a few choice comic setup bits, but is given very little to do.

But, overall, the show is fun.  And its not likely to last.  The theatre was about 80% filled in the orchestra and about 90% empty upstairs.  Sadly, the show suffers from a lack of good solid development (something that seems to be a recurring theme over the last few years).   I would say an Off-Broadway transfer would be its best route, but not without some work (including a reduction to about 90 minutes) of Michael Lombardo’s play.

Anyway, if you want something to laugh with, join my Twitter buddy for a drink.

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