the Ladies of the Corridor 9/10/05, spoilers galore & loooong

[do_re_milla]

the Ladies of the Corridor 9/10/05, spoilers galore & loooong#0

Posted: 9/11/05 at 12:53am

Where can I begin? I'll tell ya, I loved (X's 4) it. Brought to us by the same company that brought us "Counselor at Law" (which I also loved). The play was written by Dorothy Parker and Arnaud d'Usseau.

Again, casting for The Peccadillo Theater Company is character & picture perfect. Terrific ensemble & solo work. Running time 2'20". Story is a cross btwn 1950's tear-jerking melodrama & "The Women" meets "Stage Door" and I am positively hooked.

The cast of characters include: a mature "Jane Powell" perky-vulnerable-widow-of-a-man-married-to-his-business-who-ignored-her type, who dresses in the latest 1953 fashions played by Susan Jeffries; a handsome, heartbroken but willing-to-get-over-it-with-the-right-woman-but-doesn't-want-to-commit type of leading man played by Kelly Aucoin; a smart-talking-best-friend-"Roz Russell/Eve Arden" only-working-woman-in-the-play [she's in interior design] type played by Jo Ann Cunningham; a stately, drippingly-evil-"Wendy Hiller" manipulative-mother type (remember that Hiller's one of my all time fav actresses) played by Peggy Cowles; the dutiful son-with-a-"past"-under-the-thumb-of-the-evil-mother played by Ron Bagden; the been-done-wrong-by-her-husband-&-a-few-other-men-driven-to-drinking-who-makes-a-fatal-decision" young Elizabeth Taylor type played by Domenica Cameron-Scorsese; the hunky-but-slimey bellhop played by Garth T. Mark; the "Patsy Kelly" heart-of-gold type maid played by Susan Varon.

We also have 2 nasty-nasty evil "Jane & Amy Faulkner-character-type-accusers-of-Longfellow-Deeds-of-being-pixillated" shrivelled-might-as-well-be-dead type widows played by Libby George and Carolyn Seiff; the-loving-understanding-supportive-type son of Jane Powell played by Patrick Boyd who's married to the daughter-in-law-from-Hell-who-thinks-she's-a-mother-of-a-grandchild-who-needs-to-be-coddled type played by Dawn Evans; the tough-but-understanding-hotel-mgr played by Hal Blankenship; and the fresh-faced-juvenile-bell-hop-who-hero-worships-the-hunky-slimey-bellhop played by Andy Phelan.

This cast & straight play are in my top 5 for the chronological year 2005, & that includes Broadway. The cast was open & receptive to being approached after the performance. I learned that it was done about 2 yrs ago in a smaller venue than the E. 13th St. Theatre & t'ferred w/almost the entire cast in tact. It's scheduled to run thru October 24. Hope it t'fers up to the next level.

Woo-hoo!

Milla, going back for a second helping soon
Peccadillo Escorts The Ladies of the Corridor Back Off-Broadway Sept. 7