Alec Beard and Gillian Jacobs
(Credit: Joan Marcus )
Reading other reviews of “A Feminine Ending,” the mid-'20s playwright Sarah Treem's debut at Playwrights Horizons, you could be forgiven for thinking that the play's a callow mess rather than a charming, albeit inexperienced, ode to adulthood. What those reviews don’t tell you is that Treem demonstrates the most valuable talent a young playwright can have: She draws a sensitive and complex protagonist.
Amanda Blue (Gillian Jacobs) has put her own music career on hold to play domestic partner for her almost-famous rocker fiancé. But a visit to her mother supplies her with a cautionary illustration of wasted female potential. The trip also provides a counterpart to her narcissistic rock star in the boy next door, her best friend from high school. In the play’s coda, Amanda moves beyond both men—a satisfying and unconventional turn, one of several that Treem provides.
“A Feminine Ending” does have its flaws, but they are flaws of youth, not incompetence. Treem over-employs a simple dramaturgy of two-person scenes between straight-woman Amanda and the other characters. In each of these duets, the quirky foils offer Amanda notes of wisdom. These scenes have soft climaxes, which is Treem’s attempt at a more “feminine” sort of structure, but one that can leave conventionally minded audiences feeling frustrated.
In describing how disappointing adulthood can be, Treem often takes tentative steps rather than bold ones—another mistake due to inexperience, not incompetence. Ironically, her writing seems more alive when her older characters muse about their disappointments than when the young ones act impulsively. Jacobs seems to require a stronger director than Blair Brown, since her performance depends on who her scene partner is. Marsha Mason, as Amanda’s mother, buoys Jacobs through their scenes with her blithe zaniness. And as Amanda’s father, Richard Masur offers a compelling portrait of a man who understands his wife’s frustrations but is too weak to help her.
The variations in Jacobs’ seesawing performance suggest that the main problem with the play is director Brown, not Treem. Brown, a sometime actress (who won a Tony for “Copenhagen”), doesn’t push her actors nearly hard enough. The more experienced actors navigate Treem’s shifts from romance to quirky comedy, but the younger ones sometimes seem wrong-footed by the script’s subtle modulations. Blair doesn’t quite understand what to do with the non-confrontational structure either, and mistakes slow pacing for depth.
Still, “A Feminine Ending” is a charming play, one that deserves another staging outside of New York, where its contemplative tone might find a better reception. But it offers New York theatergoers the rare chance to see the work of a very young playwright in a full-scale Off-Broadway production. Treem’s next work will probably be an improvement on this one, it’s true, but you can find a lot of pleasure in the work of a real talent that’s still green.
A Feminine Ending will run through Nov. 4, 2007, at Playwrights Horizons (416 W. 42nd St. between Ninth and Tenth Aves.) Buy tickets online.
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