Ladies and Gents, a CurtainUp review

CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings

HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

REVIEWS

REVIEW ARCHIVES

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings

LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead

A CurtainUp Review

Ladies and Gents

By Jenny Sandman

John O'Callaghan and John Keating

The Bethseda Fountain toilets are not known as a public performance venue—unless, of course, you count anonymous gay sex, for which the Central Park public bathrooms are most notorious. Ladies and Gents marks two firsts for the Bethseda Fountain facilities: It's the first live play presented there, and it's probably also the first time the bathrooms are clean and odor-free. Don't worry, they're heated, too. (And both audience members and casual passers-by are dissuaded from using the facilities during performances.)

Ladies and Gents is billed as a "live-action noir thriller," with each half performed simultaneously in the two bathrooms. The audience is divided into two groups, who switch sides during the brief intermission. The two halves can be seen in either order.

Set in late-1950s Ireland, the play revolves around the underground recriminations that take place after a prominent politician is caught in a sex scandal and commits suicide in shame. Emily is a working-class prostitute, being pimped out by her husband, Watson. They think "Mr. X" is an important figure with furtive tastes and a need for secrecy. He's requested a rendezvous in the public bathrooms. "Billy" is a news photographer (we think) who's been hired to catch Emily and Mr. X in the act. But it seems Emily's and Watson's past dealings have caught up with them and their plans to capitalize on Mr. X are turned on them.

Very noir and, to say the least, very timely, this look at the sordid underbelly of sex is appropriately ssite specific. Each audience member is given a small space in which to stand and watch the action in Sinead McKenna's cunningly-lit bathrooms only inches from each viewer. The lighting is, in fact, the second star of the show. The bathrooms seem completely dark, until an actor steps into a perfectly placed (and perfectly noir) dim spotlight.

But the lighting does not outshine the Irish ensemble. While two key actors overlap both parts of the play, for the most part the two halves operate at a remove from the other. However, the acting and sound effects must sync in order for both halves to work, and so the actors are able to work almost in a vacuum and yet still retain an ensemble feel. Director Paul Walker (also the writer) has a light but unmistakable touch, in ways that become most apparent after the play is over.

I did say that there are no seats — so wear comfortable shoes.

Ladies and Gents
Written and directed by Paul Walker

With Sean Gormley, David McDonald, John O'Callaghan, John Keating, Paul Nugent, and Laoisa Sexton
Costume Design: Chris Rumery
Lighting Design: Sinead McKenna
Sound Design: Ivan Birthistle
Running Time: Forty minutes, with one five-minute intermission
Presented by the Irish Arts Center in association with Georgeanne Aldrich Heller and Semper Fi (Ireland) at the Bethseda Fountain Toilets in Central Park; 212-868-4444 (signs are located from the West 72nd Street entrance; arrive at the West 72nd Street entrance no later than 20 minutes before curtain to be met and escorted)
Performances at 7 pm, 8 pm and 9 pm nightly
Tickets $25
Through March 29th
Reviewed by Jenny Sandman based on March 22nd performance

Try onlineseats.com for great seats to
Wicked
Jersey Boys
The Little Mermaid
Lion King
Shrek The Musical

The Playbill Broadway YearBook

Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide