DELLA DOUCET – Written by Kirsten Dahl; Directed by Paul Jaquith. Produced by Vintage Theatre (1468 Dayton Street, Aurora) through September 22. Tickets available at 303-856-7830 or VintageTheatre.org.
You’d think when a girl had a play named for her, it would only be about her. But this sweet romance gives nearly equal time to her new friend who helps her forge a path to independence. Johanna Jaquith, who plays Della, has been away from the stage too long as this exciting performance proves. Who can ever forget her heart-breaking turn in BABY DANCE? While this script calls for a little less histrionics, she nevertheless calls it up when it’s needed.
Della has a sweet mix of self-confidence and uncertainty. She’s a talker, knows no strangers, and is enamored of everything about New York. She fits in anywhere and even if not everyone falls in love with her, they at least notice her and fall under her spell.
Abid Hassan is her new friend Sam who turns a one-night date into much more than that. Della has left her husband and kids back home and struck out alone to New York, not so much in search of fame and fortune as just trying to escape her oppressive husband. She has a one-year work assignment and hopes that the separation will help her sort her life by then. Sam is a big help. But it’s not all peaches and cream. This is not a total Hallmark movie, but it leans that way a little. Only instead of going home to a small town to find peace and the man of her dreams, Della goes to the big city.
The remaining cast members fill important roles in Della’s journey. Corinne Landy is her workmate and new best friend Erin. A prickly artist working up to her first big solo show, Erin learns a valuable lesson in marketing and self-confidence from Della. Wade Livingston is cute as a kind of smarmy uncle to Sam with an eye for the younger ladies in the room. Watching Della sell him one of Erin’s art pieces was a delightful scene to behold, both for Della’s amazing salesmanship, but also for Erin’s dumbfounded delight in watching her work her magic. Mike Moran has the difficult role of playing all the rest of the needed men to tell the story – cab driver, bartender, conductor and more. And Linda Swanson Brown brings her own charm to the role of Sam’s assistant, Angie.
The script and the production have created some very nice moments. We root for Della in a quiet supportive way and watch her make difficult decisions. Until . . . . she finally lets loose on her husband in a terrifying scene over the phone. Then the audience literally broke out in applause and mentally pumped our arms in the air. We too have grown so fond of her that we are excited for her breakthrough.
Author Kirsten Dahl does a clever thing in letting a needed reconciliation be left in the hands of Della’s best friend Erin, rather than giving her the need to fix things on her own. And the way Vintage staged this scene in a subway car was also very clever. A clothing rack was rolled on stage with wrist straps attached to the upper bar. We watch as Sam and Erin discover each other at opposite ends of the car and slowly bump toward each other and conversation. What a clever way of avoiding building yet another piece of scenery yet visually satisfying the watcher.
But Kirsten also didn’t figure out a way to avoid the plague of short scenes that require a set change between each one. This led to the “bed ballet” in which a complicated dismantling of a huge bed in the middle of the stage and re-assembly occurred at least three or four times. While the people doing the up and down with the bed did it with great deliberation and speed, it nevertheless couldn’t help but slow the pace down and break the mood.
Kortney Hanson designed an interesting set that gave an overall impression of a somewhat grungy New York apartment, workspace, art gallery, and all the other locations needed. Susan Rahmsdorff-Terry made the clever choice of dressing Della in sweet Southern pink for every occasion – until she had made her emotional break with the past. And then watch the red come out!
Paul Jaquith, the director, and Johanna Jaquith as Della are a husband and wife team who obviously understand the dynamics of a loving relationship and work well together. Let’s see a little more of that . . . . soon.
A WOW factor of 8!!