Though it’s not referenced in this amuse bouche monologue of this sexism soufflé of a script by playwright Theresa Rebeck, it’s immediately recognizable to those of us alive and sentient at the time that the Anita Hill hearings are still in the zeitgeist. We’re in an all male bastion, where brown nosing begins and ends with mastering the rules of a patriarchal system. Play to Stu’s supersized and fragile ego by telling him he’s your father figure, as blowhard golden boy Webber (Jeff Kurysz) later does, and you’ll secure the most plum assignments and likely financial reward too. You’ll do fine, as long as you don’t make the mistake of being clearly superior to everyone else and fatally female.
The she-devil bane of Stu’s existence, Eliza (Echaka Agba), is a new hire whom Stu has relegated to a broom closet of an office. Unlike her long-suffering female co-worker Janice (Denise Hoeflich) ,who had long ago mastered go-along-to-get-along submissive stance, Eliza has the fatal flaw of knowing she truly is the superior talent in the room.
In 90 minutes that seem to just fly by, we watch Eliza’s dish. Because you know it’s going there pretty much from the gitgo, it’s not really a spoiler to report that part of the satisfaction of this production is that the good guys- or rather gal- wins in the end. In fact, it’s a happy rout.
Compass Theatre Musters Equity Level Talents
In this writer’s view, lesser hands managing this tie-it-up-with-a-bow type script could easily fumble. Director Lauren Shouse seems to know she has top tier talent to work with--- the casting choices—all-- seeming to be the first master stroke. Agba fans will not be disappointed. She creates her character so completely that by the end of her first scene we feel like we’ve known her for ages. How perfect that Shouse positions Agba in the shadows during many scene changes as an observer – where her high heeled boot physical presence alone dominates and tells us this is herstory unfolding. Similarly, Kurysz creates his suck-up Webber character so convincingly that we know even he knows he’s full of it.
