Art Angst

By Jerry Stein


    I'm beginning to dread living room sets on stage.

    It used to be when you walked into the theater and you saw a couch you could expect something rip-roaring like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" or a "Long Day's Journey Into Night" but not with Donald Margulies' "Collected Stories," which opened the Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati's 25th season Sept. 8. As handsome as Brian c. Mehring's set is with its built-in book shelves and print of Matisse's "Dance" on the wall, it all begins to at least sound like a teacher's office.

    The ETC's producing director D. Lynn Meyers has assembled a more than competent pair of actors in Amy Warner and Corinne Mohlenhoff. As the crusty writer-teacher Ruth Steiner and budding creative writing student Lisa, respectively, there is a lot of spirited oral boxing here.

    But though Margulies gives each actor choice, witty, even decently reflective lines in their edgy student/teacher relationship, the play visits the well-worn theme of the struggling artist engaged in finding her/his voice.

    Perhaps it would be tolerable to sit through a writer's development, ambition and some unattractive behavior that a good review conjures up in the young writer for the umpteenth time.

    The problem is that Margulies has written a kind of treatse on the vicissitudes of writing, nothing less than a diary most likely on himself. In the first scene, Steiner takes apart Lisa's struggling prose. It's supposed to be a tutorial and, believe me, it is. Long after we get the point that this kid needs lots of work, the critique goes on.

    There are other self-indulgences on the part of the playwright that try the patience. There's a long recitation of Ruth's short story about two women baking cakes. It's necessary to draw a conclusion that Ruth is writing about herself. But hopefully those cakes won't turn out to be as over done as this scene.

    The play gets out of the living room briefly in the second act so we can attend Lisa's reading of her new novel before a literary society. Something dramatically is revealed in this reading but it goes on far too long especially when it treats Lisa's insecurities of giving her first public speech.

    Climatically, it's not giving too much away to reveal that the final scene, set six years later from scene one, is one of hurt and betrayal over Lisa's success as a novelist. The catapulting retributions elicit engaging enough passion from Warner and Mohlenhoff.

    But rivalry and betrayal between mentor and student have been all so much more effectively in all sorts of art world and backstage dramas and cinema. The film of "All About Eve" accomplishes this theme with a lot more economy than what is on display here. They never seen to tire of using their tongues as swords on each other.

    Despite the length of the interchanges in that final scene, Margulies' script takes an abrupt turn from betrayal to a kind of flash analysis on the part of Lisa as to what is really causing Ruth's rancor. She gleans all of this from that short story about the cakes.

    The connection between the story and Ruth's life is telegraphed in act one to the detriment of the final confrontation. For all its drama, the final scene just swings the hammer too hard concerning what most of the audience will have figured out.

    The generous audience gave the play (or was really in honor of the performances?) a standing ovation.

    But at about two hours and 40 minutes, including a break for the class, I mean audience, the grade for the play certainly is not an F but a good argument could be made for an incomplete.

    "Collected Stories" will be presented at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, 1127 Vine St.,Over-the-Rhine, Wednesdays through Sundays through Sept. 26. Tickets: $34-$42. Reservations: 513 421 3555.

    Photo by Sandy Underwood: Amy Warner, left, and Corrine Mohlenhoff in 'Collected Stories.'