Disappointing play opens at Woodinville Rep
Act a Lady by Jordan Harrison opened at Woodinville Repertory Theatre in Woodinville this weekend. Directed by Scott Dittman, it takes place in a small town supposedly in the Midwest, in the 1920’s that is to say during prohibition, when three local men decide to fund-raise by putting on a play, where they play women’s parts. 
Although the program notes said that the town was in the Midwest and in the script there were references to Des Moines (pronounced correctly) in central Iowa and Eau Claire (mispronounced as “Ewe” Claire, correct pronunciation OH Claire) in Northwest Wisconsin, the dialogue was dialectally Southern, while the actors spoke in non-descript Southern accents, not in what linguists call General American-the accent of the Midwest. Trust me, I grew up in the Midwest. Neither phonetically nor dialectally, do Midwesterns speak like the characters in Act a Lady.
The Director of this play stated in his notes that “our approach is rooted in authenticity and respect for the characters’ journeys, aiming to create space where the audience can engage with the nuanced reality of being true to oneself in a world that demands conformity.”
Unfortunately I saw nothing of nuance, nor authenticity nor respect in this script nor in this production. The characters were all caricatured; emotionally it was sub-sit-com. As far as respect-it was dripping with contempt and condescension for small-town people, and the Midwest in general.
The afternoon I saw this play, a warm sunny Sunday, less than half the room was full, which may explain why the audience laughed so little; however it may have just been that it was not particularly funny, just predictably unimaginative. When everything is played for laughs the gags fall flat.
In the old days, Woodinville Rep was an outstanding theatre with a professional reputation, producing substantial meaty plays. Over the years, I have reviewed plenty of significantly important LGBTQ plays, such as The Lisbon Traviata, and the little-known The Drag by Mae West, which have reduced me to both laughter and tears, because they connected the specific tragic LGBTQ circumstances to universal human circumstances.
What has happened to WRT?
Act a Lady, Woodinville Repertory Theatre. Sammamish Valley Grange 14654-148th Ave NE Woodinville. 98072. Weekends Til April 7
Tickets https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=215252
There is parking lot.