Wilder Wariness For Rorschach's The Skin Of Our Teeth
Thornton Wilder's The Skin Of Our Teeth, despite having won a Pulitzer, is a play that's hard to appreciate on anything more than an intellectual level. It's clear the author's intent (mostly a commentary on the devastation of war and how we're destined to repeat our mistakes). There are more than a few clever literary allusions, many of them Biblical. The play's dour, end-of-the-world message certainly resonates in contemporary times. And you have to give the playwright credit for being "meta" long before the term was popularized, as he teasingly toys with narration, setting the show in a play within a play where it's easy to forget he's doing so until we're abruptly interrupted by the musings of a histrionic actress.
But these are the kinds of observations that come after the fact, when reflecting on the work. In the moment, The Skin of Our Teeth is epically long, with a smirking clever tone that rarely translates into funny. Its characters are neither wholly sympathetic nor fascinatingly amoral. It's the kind of play that when you're watching it, it kinda feels like homework.
The source material is the major issue with enjoying Rorschach Theater's able and faithful production now being staged at the Davis Center For The Performing Arts. The cast is largely first-rate, anchored by a commanding performance from Scott McCormick as Mr. Antrobus, the patriarch of our starring family, and enhanced by the appealing Cesar A. Guadamuz, who gets the first act's over-the-top tone just right and adjusts with subtlety when his character is awarded more dimensions as the show goes on. The only casting quibble is with Jjana Valentiner as Sabina the desperate maid and pursuer of Mr. Antrobus (and in the dual role of the aforementioned fussy actress) -- her sex appeal at times feels forced, though she comes into her own in the third act when Sabina grows more world-weary.
When director Rahaleh Nassri puts the company's signature Rorschach touches on the action -- such as in the glitzy second act's carnival atmosphere with appearances even from Elvis, or its well-placed bursts of pop music -- the show feels most alive. But what's surprising is that this doesn't happen more often; the production as a whole is fairly traditional. The play's being performed in a classic theatrical space that contrasts with Rorschach's more humble usual digs, and one almost wonders if the innovative company is constrained in the land of curtains and auditorium seating.
The Skin Of Our Teeth runs through Aug. 10 on the Georgetown Campus. Tickets are available online.