Watching a Wendy Wasserstein play is kind of like going out to coffee with a really old friend: So comfortable the conversation, so familiar the characters that by the end of the night, you just don’t want to go home.
“The Sisters Rosensweig” — which TheatreWorks opened last weekend at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts — is no different. By the time the curtain falls, not only will you not want to go home, but you’ll also feel the urge to invite the cast down to the local watering hole for a round of drinks and a Frank Sinatra sing-along.
Wasserstein characters have this effect on people. She makes you feel like you actually know them; that they could be your best friend, sister, or eccentric next-door neighbor.
Although “Sisters Rosensweig” may not be Wasserstein’s most recognized play (that honor belongs to “The Heidi Chronicles”), it is still unquestionably one of her finest works. So it seemed fitting when TheatreWorks announced in January that it would be closing its season with the 1993 comedy-drama. The Peninsula playhouse had been set to host the world premiere of Wasserstein’s latest collaboration piece, “Pamela’s First Musical,” but abruptly nixed the show when it became clear the 55-year-old playwright, who was battling lymphoma, was too sick to travel to the West Coast. Wasserstein died a few weeks later.
Director Robert Kelley has handled this production of “Sisters Rosensweig” with meticulous perfection. From the stately Queen Anne’s Gate drawing room set by Joe Ragey to the exceptional casting, nothing is amiss. Helming the show are the three amazing actresses — Alison Edwards, Carole Healey and Rebecca Dines — who make up the sisters. The trio play distinctly different characters, and yet they interact so well together, it’s as if they’ve known each other their whole lives.
Sara (Edwards) is the sexually repressed corporate banker, about to celebrate her 54th birthday when the play opens. Gorgeous (Healey) is a ditzy radio personality who favors words like “funsy” and “sweetsie.” And then there is Pfeni (Dines), the globetrotting journalist who travels so much because she is afraid of commitment.
Wasserstein’s writing centers on strong, middle-aged Jewish women. Their lives aren’t perfect. They are keenly aware of what’s broke, yet are smart enough to realize there is not always an easy fix. This may all sound very self-serving, but Wasserstein was a big feminist and wasn’t afraid to express her views.
There are a few other constants to Wasserstein plays: They are pants-wettingly funny, and often include those revelatory, “ah-ha”-type moments, though never before the play is half-way home.
In “Sisters Rosensweig,” Wasserstein deviates from her typical New York setting, placing the action in London over one weekend in August. The sisters are meeting up to celebrate Sara’s birthday. There really isn’t much more to the plot than that. It’s the conversations around Sara’s posh sitting room that makes this play so dynamic.
It doesn’t hurt that Wasserstein throws a few “boys” into the mix to spice things up — Geoffrey (Jeff Williams), Pfeni’s zany, bisexual boyfriend, and Merv (Michael Hawkins) as Sara’s slick-talking gentleman caller.
Director Kelley couldn’t have come up with a lovelier tribute to honor the legacy of this beloved American playwright. Wasserstein would have been very pleased.
INFORMATION:
What: TheatreWorks presents “The Sisters Rosensweig” by Wendy Wasserstein
Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.
When: Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.; Wednesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Closes April 30.
Cost: $20-$54
Contact: (650) 903-6000 or visit www.theatreworks.org
