Another day, another show at the Fringe.
THE ALICE COMPLEX. As far as I can tell, this is the starriest of the Fringe shows this year, featuring Tony-nominee Xanthe Elbrick (of "Coram Boy") and Lisa Banes (of about a zillion play, movies and television roles, very few of which I've seen). There's a reference to "Mrs. Dalloway" near the beginning of the play (luckily it's a quote from the first page of the novel, because that's about as far as I ever got through it), and that brought Michael Cunnigham's "The Hours" to mind, a novel (and movie) that seemed sort of similar in structure to this play. Instead flipping between scenes that in some way have to do with "Mrs Dalloway," the play flips between scenes that have to "The Alice Complex," which is both the name of the play within the play (which we see rehearsed, acted out, and referred to be disgruntled audience members who left before it was over), and also a feminist manifesto (the writer of which is the subject of the play within the play). For good measure, there's even a passage from "Alice in Wonderland" thrown in near the end. I can't say I found the play to be all that satisfying. The scenes from the play within the play tended to be the most interesting, with the other scenes I guess thrown in with the theory that they would make the play seem more intellectual and daring, though I personally found they just made it seem pretentious. The saving grace of the production, and really why I'd actually recommend seeing it, is for the fantastic performance from Lisa Banes. She's one of those actresses who's name vaguely rings a bell, but I would never have been able to pick her out of a lineup. Still, her performance is the kind that made me think that I wouldn't mind seeing her read from the phonebook (which may or may not be more exciting than "The Alice Complex). For some reason, her voice reminded me quite a bit of Kathleen Chalfant (another actress who's saved many an awful play). Anyway, I found whenever she would speak, I would be absolutely riveted to her. Xanthe Elbrick on the other hand, was okay, though not really up to the level of Banes. I think part of it may have been that her parts weren't nearly as interesting - Banes gets to play characters like the professor and playwright, while Elbrick plays mostly just whiny, annoying students. The entire play is thankfully only a little over an hour long, and I recommend checking it out for Banes alone. It may be extremely unsatisfying as a piece of drama, but it does feature what is surely some of the finest acting at this year's Fringe.
