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Solid Gold Cadillac
Open Eye’s latest gets my vote this week for Show Most Relevant to the Current Economic Climate—and that’s pretty impressive considering it’s working from a script first produced in 1953. Penned by Teichmann and Kaufman (that legendary crafter of clever chaos), the satirical fairy story follows an unlikely Cinderella—a onetime actor and full-time screwball named Laura Partridge—as she somehow manages to bring to heel the four wicked executives who run the monolithic corporation in which she happens to own ten shares of stock. The tone is more goofily anarchic than acidic, but after all these months of corporate bailouts, rip-offs and Madoffs, it’s impossible not to get a certain vengeful thrill from watching a lone, lowly dingbat merrily—and half-unwittingly—giving the fat cats their due. It’s sort of like Erin Brockovich, except not excruciating.
So, points to Open Eye for picking a play that fulfills the revenge fantasies of a significant portion of the audience. As for Maher’s staging, it benefits from a bright Technicolor look that suits both the period (mid-20th century) and form (fable), but it often lacks precision, thanks to frenetically muddled performances from the supporting cast. Fortunately, there’s Sevigny’s engagingly loopy Mrs. Partridge. Wisely avoiding imitation of the inimitable Judy Holliday (who starred in the movie version), Sevigny brings instead a kind of giddy, half-mad effervescence, always making sure to show hints of fangs behind the fizz.
