Melodramatic Flirting and Antagonism

The Layover – The Comrades

In this Midwest premiere of Leslye Headland’s 2016 drama, a one-act play about infidelity and the consequences thereof, theatergoers may walk away feeling disappointed. The play begins promisingly but, before long, it begins to veer into the land of incredible melodrama. Like most soap operas, we don’t really get to dive into the psyche of its characters, so we end up feeling kinda empty by the end. Yet, despite hungering for more information about these people, audiences may, after 100 long intermission-less minutes, be thankful to simply escape from these characters and their hokey and perverted world.

Anyone who’s ever traveled by air has probably experienced the inescapable trap called a layover. Most of the time, passengers will simply board their plane a little later than their boarding pass stated. Sometimes travelers will sit in their airline seats on the tarmac, waiting for the pilot’s announcement that they finally  have been given clearance to take off. Once in a while bad weather or a technical problem causes the entire flight to be cancelled altogether.

In Ms. Headland’s drama, an attractive young woman named Shellie is seated next to a handsome young man named Dex. She’s clearly nervous about air travel, in general; Dex, however, is pretty insensitive to her fear of flying and engages in some uncomfortable banter that only acerbates the situation. When an announcement makes it clear that no one on this Thanksgiving flight will be going anywhere this evening, due to mechanical difficulties and the snowstorm in Chicago, Dex and Shellie find each other once again in the concourse bar.

After a few drinks and some shameless flirtation, the couple decide to get a room together at the O’Hare Marriott. Shellie has described herself as a New York college professor of American crime fiction. She claims to be happily single, with both of her parents gone, and blissfully independent, Shellie looks forward to sleeping through the holiday. Shellie ferrets out that Dex is an engineer and is unhappily engaged, although he may possibly be ending his relationship with this woman. She learns that Dex’s involvement with Andrea, the other woman, caused her to escape her first husband with their daughter, Lily. A May wedding is tentatively planned, but Shellie’s not convinced that it will actually happen. Their lovemaking is full of passion and almost violent. Then, the next morning, each returns to his or her former life.

The trouble comes when the audience sees each character’s actual background. In melodramatic style, we meet selfish, possessive Andrea and her self-entitled teenage daughter, Lily. Dex’s life is pure misery, but then we get a look at Shellie’s life. It turns out that she lied about everything except, strangely enough, her real name. She’s not a teacher, but a cleaning woman who also cuts hair to make ends meet. She’s married to a bullying lowlife and drug pusher named Kevin. Shellie, who lives in rural Illinois, is also deep in debt while caring for her father, Fred. He’s had a stroke and now suffers from seizures. Throughout our glimpses into both of their pathetic lives, the two share glances at each other. It’s this playwright’s melodramatic way of telling us that Dex and Shellie are pining for each other and thinking of their one night together.

Without giving away too much more, suffice it to say that Headland’s play unrealistically develops the way theatergoers might predict, especially recalling some foreshadowing during the first scene that described “the perfect murder.” Directed with far too many unnecessary scene changes, Drew Shirley’s production continually interrupts the play, taking the audience out of the story and leaving us in semidarkness. While we wait for the play to continue, the audience watches the cast members constantly moving and removing furniture. There has to be a simpler way of changing locales without ending each scene in a marathon of shadowy furniture moving.

The cast is pretty good, although they have to fight a disappointing script. Alison Plott is strong as Shellie, but she has to constantly work hard to bring any element of realism to her soap opera-like character. Michael Vizzi is mesmerizing as Dex, but he, too, is in a continual battle to become a real person, instead of a caricature of the misunderstood philanderer. The final scene between these two actors is an explosion of histrionic hamminess and leaves the audience aghast. This is too bad, because these two actors have demonstrated their craft in better performances. 

Emma Jo Boyden is a harsh, stereotypical harpy as Andrea, but later she gets to play a bubble-headed nurse in another scene. As Fred, Shellie’s ailing father, Jim Morley has a few laugh lines, but he’s saddled with a longwinded monologue that’s quite difficult to take. Charlotte Hensely does what she can with the snotty, self-centered teenage princess, Lily, but she does it well. And Joshua J. Volkers, while playing Kevin as your stock, abusive lowlife hubby, manages to bring some brilliance to his role as Mr. Arno, a character that’s best seen to be appreciated.

In a play that fluctuates between outrageous flirtation and dangerous antagonism, it becomes difficult to find anyone with whom to identify. The audience doesn’t really like any of the characters in this story because each person is despicable in one or more ways. Because everyone in this seemingly never-ending  story are forever attacking one other, defending themselves or complaining about their miserable lives, Leslie Headland’s melodrama leaves the audience wondering what possessed The Comrades to choose this particular play.

Somewhat Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas 

Presented February 20-March 22 by The Comrades at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 773-404-7336 or by going to www.greenhousetheater.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.