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The Clean House
By Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Jessica Thebus
At the Goodman Theatre
170 N. Dearborn
Chicago, IL
Call 312-443-3800, tickets $20 - $65
Wednesdays at 7:30
Thursdays at 2 & 7:30 PM
Fridays at 8 PM
Saturdays at 2 & 8 PM
Sundays at 2 & 7:30 PM
Running time is 2 hours, 10 min with intermission
Through June 4, 2006
"If you don't clean, how do you know you've made any progress in life?" --- Virginia from The Clean House
"A good joke cleans you inside out." -- Matilde from The Clean House
Uniquely compelling works awaits at The Goodman Theatre
Chicago playwright Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House is a refreshingly original hybrid that is part comedy of manners, part surrealistic fantasy, part domestic relationship and part a look at the effects of humor on the psyche especially in relationship to death. It uses the metaphor of cleaning one’s house to define the personality of the four women. In a clever, often hilarious production at the Goodman Theatre’s main stage, The Clean House unfolds as a fable-like treatment of modern American culture where our frantic lives leave no time for domestic chores such as cleaning one’s house. It pokes fun at the guilt we all have when dust and dirt invade our homes forcing us to clean before the cleaning lady arrives.
Director Jessica Thebus mounts a fast paced show that promises much and delivers enough to make its ambitious premise work to create one of the most visionary comedy-dramas in many years. Todd Rosenthal’s ultra-modern white suburban house set with large skylight suggests a sterile environment a successful woman doctor, Lane (Mary Beth Fisher, in a terrific realistic performance) would enjoy. She will not clean ands hires Matilde (pronounced mah-chill-gee), played with zest by Guenia Lemos to do the cleaning. Matilde is Brazilian and finds cleaning so depressing that it distracts her from finding “the perfect joke.” Virginia (Christine Estabrook), Lane’s excessive-compulsive sister defines her self-worth in terms of the amount of dirt she can clean. She and Matilde form a pact that allows Virginia to clean Lane’s house while Matilde searches her mind for the perfect joke. This neat premise uses clever monologues and smart exchanges to land both humor and set-ups for the play. Matilde’s early delivery of a joke in Brazilian Portuguese garnered laughs even though few could understand its meaning.
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When Lane’s surgeon husband Charles (Patrick Clear) introduces his newly found soul mate Ana (Marilyn Dodds Frank), Lane’s ordered life becomes chaotic. Ana is a sixty something breast cancer patient of Charles who desires a man before show she succumbs to cancer. Ana could be a mythological figure sent to connect and fulfill each character’s needs? She adds clarity as she connects to the desire of each. She gives Charles’ nurturing and sexual fulfillment while she reminds Matilde of her departed mother. Virginia finds her purpose in nursing Ana and Lane overcomes her jealousy as her compassion allows her to help a needy patient.
Ruhl’s script nicely moves from absurdity to realism to fantasy seamlessly to produce genuine laughter while offering a hopeful look at how humor can positively heal sickness both of the body and the soul. You’d be hard pressed to witness a finer acted show that balances the poignant moments with the wacky ones. Guenia Lemos’ Matilde and Mary Beth Fisher’s Lane are especially excellent here.
When you see The Clean House, you’ll witness a talented, inventive new voice in Sarah Ruhl.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed May 9, 2006
Jeff Recommended
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