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| Leah Michelle Roberts and Erica McClure in Auctioning the Ainsleys. Photo – Theatre [502]. |
By Laura Schellhardt
Directed By Amy Attaway
Reviewed by Keith Waits
Theatre [502] has made its reputation with productions of
contemporary plays that are often moving the forms of modern playwriting in new
directions. Auctioning the Ainsleys
is a slight departure in that it operates within more traditional structures.
As director Amy Attaway states in her program notes: “There is no violence, no
sex, no explosion. No blood or flashing lights or fog or cigarettes or loud
noises of any kind.”
Actually there was one instance of flashing lights, just
a detail of a precise lighting design that effectively underscores the overly
schematic structure of the play. The story tells us about the Ainsleys, a
family whose business is estate auctions. The matriarch, Alice, has engaged an
assistant, Arthur, to record the history and dysfuntionality of the family and
has also decided to sell the house (which houses her and three of her four
adult children) and all of its contents. Not surprisingly, this is upsetting to
the siblings and results in the return of prodigal daughter Avery.
The first act moves quickly to
establish the characters and their relationships to each other with wit and
careful observation. Alice is certainly eccentric, her hold on reality in
question, and Pat Allison’s performance explores this dynamic with great
subtlety. Objects occupy an important role here, as each character’s
possessions, or lack of them, are a measure of how they define themselves.
Annalee (Cara Hicks) handles accounting from a desk that belonged to her
deceased father; Amelia arranges items with OCD fastidiousness; while Aiden
takes pains to be rid of possessions and polishes or, more often, distresses
objects in preparation for auction. Avery, seen at first as a sort of Greek
chorus before reentering the family home, uses a gloved hand instead of a gavel
to close a sale.
These quirks trigger much of
the humor, and the perfectly chosen cast make the most of them. Cara Hicks is appropriately
anxious as Annalee; Erica McClure is nicely overwrought as Amelia; and Neil
Robertson has the luck of the lines as Aiden, delivering his acerbic dialogue
with a sharp timing emphasized by fluid and adept gestures that would be the
undoing of many a lesser actor. Leah Roberts’ forceful work as Avery drives
much of the action in the second act as she individually reacquaints herself
with her siblings, but this is also where the difficulties arise. These scenes
alternate with similar encounters between Arthur (a nicely academic Lucas
Adams), and a sense of redundancy creeps into the play. Other repetitive
elements, such as Aiden jokingly referring to Arthur as “knick-knack” or “fricassee”
in every exchange, seem overused and emphasize the draining of economy in the
latter part of the play, slowing down the waning moments of the story.
Fortunately, Ms. Attaway’s
direction and the nimble playing go a long way in overcoming these problems.
The schematic rigidity of the writing, reflected in all of the design work, does
illustrate how trapped these characters are; and the questions of whether they
will escape are approached with sense and clarity enough in the text, and even
more so on the performance, so that, ultimately, this production is succeeds
beautifully in realizing the playwright’s intention.
Auctioning the Ainsleys
October 5, 7, 10, 11 & 12, 2013
8 p.m.
Theatre [502] in the Victor Jory Theater
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Third & Main Streets
Louisville, KY 40202
502-509-1595
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