Captivating Chronicles

The Heidi Chronicles

by Wendy Wasserstein

directed by Carolyn Rendell

at the Leverett House Old Library

The Leverett House Arts Society's production of The Heidi Chronicles sustained an exhaustive exhibition of the psychology of Baby Boomer life over 25 years with almost electric atmosphere. The cast's intensly emotional interactions, bristling with insecurity, love and pain, kept the audience on a two-and-a-half hour empathetic roller-coaster.

Wendy Wasserstein's play portrays the emotional milestones of Heidi Holland, a self-proclaimed "informed observer" of life, and links them with the chief social issues and trends of her time. The play begins with Heidi (Janine Poreba) alone on a darkened stage, warmly personalizing her lecture on women in art. Her reminiscences of insecurity and indecision trigger the events of the play, literally inviting the audience to relate to her story on a personal level.

Indeed, the Leverett House production fostered this kind of empathy from the audience. The small space, small cast and warm lighting contributed to the cozy, intimate feel. The timely elements of the play--the period costumes, props, music and lingo--were overshadowed by the universal truths of Heidi's struggle with loneliness.

Carolyn Rendell's direction skillfully overcame a number of potential problems. The script, for example, is highly analytical and often cynical; the general good humor and depth of Rendell's interpretation prevented a potentially self-indulgent, whiny production. Resisting the temptation to flatten the main characters into a series of caricatures, Rendell infused them with self-consciousness and deep-seated vulnerability.

Conveying the broad passage of time presented another challenge. While the makeup can only be regarded as minimal, superb acting and costuming aided the imaginative leap, with impressive results. And dealing with issues of women's rights, marriage, gay rights, AIDS, love, and power politics is equally daunting. Rather than presenting them as distant political concerns, the actors integrated these issues into the very personae of their characters.

In the lead role, Janine Poreba struck a poignant balance between her confessional relationship with the audience, her underlying isolation on stage, and the preservation of normality in her interactions with the other characters. The role of Heidi demands a juggling act between Heidi's personal problems and the many different relationships she holds with the other characters. Poreba maintained Heidi's sense of "self" while contributing to the development of others, namely Peter Patrone (Mike Efron) and Scoop Rosenbaum (Nick Gordon). Poreba's Heidi was vividly 3-dimensional. Most striking were Poreba's monologues, in which her meaningful pauses, shifting pace and fixed concentration were magnetic.

As Peter Patrone, Heidi's longtime friend and "the best doctor under 40 in New York," Mike Efron fully developed his character without off-setting or being off-set by the swirl of other issues around him. In depicting Peter's decision to reveal his homosexuality to Heidi and in his response to the AIDS crisis--both dealt with in the midst of a play so laden with feminist concerns--Efron holds his own with captivating power. Efron's convincing combination of wit, cynicism and vulnerability made his character especially sympathetic to the audience. His final duet with Poreba in the hospital reduced many to tears.

Nick Gordon's Scoop Rosenbaum was slimy yet endearing, and the interplay between the character's "A+ ambition, A- charisma, and C+ loyalty" was certainly entertaining. Decidedly lively, Gordon provided a dynamic contrast well with Efron's and Poreba's brooding characters.

Also contrasting with Poreba's character was Jessica Walling's portrayal of Susan Johnston. Effectively revealing how freaky the pressure of social trends can be, Walling charged into the feminist collectives of the 70s and power lunching in the 80s with frightening and humorous intensity.

Jessica Fortunato, Lizzy Marlantes, Lacey Tucker, and Micheal Wertheim shared 13 roles between them. Fortunato played the plastic talk-show hostess of "Hello New York" memorably. Marlantes' performance as Lisa, Scoop's spunky Southern belle wife, was particularly touching as she discovers her husband's philandering ways. And Tucker was especially compelling as Becky, a realistic, naive character on the verge of feminist consciousness. While this casting furthered the intimate effect of the production, at times it was a bit confusing.

Confusing casting aside, Leverett's Heidi Chronicles marks an auspicious beginning for Harvard's fall drama season.