The marriage of Bette and Boo
![[pic]](files/2002/12/06/20021206-1-1.jpg)
The Marriage of Bette and Boo
California State University,
Hayward Department of Theatre and Dance
A Theatre Report by [Me]
Several weeks ago, I attended the State University, Hayward production of "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" - the wickedly provocative comedy by Christopher Durang that depicts the married life of Bette and Boo and their dysfunctional families. It was directed by Ric Prindle and performed by California State University students.
In "The Marriage of Bette and Boo", Boo, performed by Sean Roberts, is an alcoholic husband who soaks his discontent in a bottle of booze, while his wife Bette, performed by Marissa Keltie, is so consumed by the frustration of her inability to raise a family that it seems that death would bring an almost euphoric end to her misery. The story begins with their wedding day and follows them through the course of their lives. As the story develops we discover that Bette who has sought out to start a large family with Boo is unable to give birth to any children except her first Matt, played by Craig Marker.
It seems Prindle enjoys blurring the line between comedy and vulgarity as much as Christopher Durang. Perhaps the two have found a perfect match in "THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO." In the play, Bette's first baby is thought to have died at birth. It isn't until Bette's father examines the alleged corpse that they discover that the baby is alive. Her other children are all still born and are discarded in one vulgar method or another. One corpse is even thrown across the stage as an attempt at humor. Unfortunately, I found the vulgarity distasteful. In fact, the funniest parts of the script itself were the cues written for the audience member in the back row who would laugh overzealously during the performance. He was almost certainly a "shill". I think even the director would have to admit that Durang's wit is somewhat of an acquired taste. The script was not the sort of content you would find on popular television. In fact, it might be some time before anything this taboo can make it into popular culture.
Boo's mother is the archetypal ditzy blonde and his father plays the role of the emotionally abusive husband. In fact, most of the characters in the story fit some sort of social mold. They are all two dimensional characters at best and the depth of the play is not found in the characters themselves so much as the social statement Durang is trying to make. I couldn't help notice how the actors that were chosen seemed to fit the stereotypical image of their characters. Dana Chohlis, who played Boo's ditsy mother, seemed to fit the role of the ditsy blonde image perfectly. I would be tempted to criticize the director if I had any evidence that he chosen these actors based on their physical characteristics. It was obvious however that it was the actors' prowess that actually delivered the portrayal of the characters so successfully.
In fact the costuming also played a large role in their ability to "pull off" these roles. Chohlis, who happens to be a very tall actress, wore high heel shoes making her tower awkwardly over the rest of the cast. She fumbled around on the stage adding a really amusing dimension to the character. Boo wore his wedding suit throughout the performance. It seemed really out of place for his character, who would probably have been more comfortable in a flannel and slippers. Interestingly enough however his costume also added dimension to the character he was portraying. It emphasized his disarray. In the flannel and slippers he would have seemed at home, but his character was anything but comfortable with his situation. The suit added a backdrop for us to see just how unhappy he was. Kasey Klemm who played Boo's father Karl seemed to have as strong a presence in his appearance as his character did in his dialogs. He seemed quite at home in his character's suit which he was able to fill unlike Roberts who seemed to be swimming in his. In fact he is just as comfortable in his wardrobe as his character is in delivering his advice to Boo that he should not expect too much from life.
The stage unfortunately seemed too large for the performance. The characters seemed very far away, mostly because the stage was so large and there was a lot of unused space above the characters. The distance between the top of the characters' heads and the bottom of the curtain lay completely unused. They should have either lowered the curtain to create a warmer climate or created some filler to occupy the void over the cast's heads.
The music was incidental and seemed like more of an afterthought than an integral part of the performance. It was used at best as an instrument to detract from the sounds of moving things around on stage. I would have liked a more well thought out use of the sound in general.
The set makes very creative use of moving platforms. The setting for the wedding pictures rolls out of the way when it's not being used. One scene features Bette and Boo in their bed. The platform supports a bed placed vertically so that the Bette and Boo, who are in the bed are able to face us in the scene. The stage hands that move the platforms are dressed in tuxedos and look as if they're part of the wedding crew. They move the platforms around fluidly and at times appear as part of the performance.
The performance demonstrated creativity in set design but had many shortcomings. Perhaps more preparation time would have given Prindle an opportunity to work out some of the other areas of the production which fell short.