NEW YORK—It's a pleasure to see a well-made play such as William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba. Its content is universal; its characters recognizable. It has a beginning, middle, and an end.
Set in a Midwestern city in 1950, Lola (S. Epatha Merkerson) is the loyal wife of Doc (Kevin Anderson). They respect one another, but somehow an emptiness hovers about the childless couple, in spite of Lola's ongoing efforts to please Doc and accede to his every wish.
Furthermore, there is a major problem. Doc is a recovering alcoholic. He dutifully attends AA meetings, yet there is an air of uncertainty and dissatisfaction about him.
Doc's off-centeredness is heightened by the attractive young boarder, Marie (Zoe Kazan), who has recently come onto the scene. Doc tries to treat her like the daughter he has never had, but one senses possibly inappropriate undercurrents. It takes only a disappointment by Marie to push Doc over the edge, and he now heads on a downhill spiral.
And who is Little Sheba? It's a puppy Lola once owned, which ran away some time back and has never returned. Lola yearns for the puppy. It is undoubtedly a symbol for the infant she has yearned for, and her remembrances of the adorable behavior of the puppy help salve her current pain and loneliness. But her memories also keep her in an unrealistic state of mind.
There is some small-town banter. Nosy next-door neighbor Mrs. Coffman (Brenda Wehle) alternately criticizes and admires Lola's housekeeping skills; the postman (Lyle Kanouse) never brings mail for Lola. Marie's two love interests, the aggressive hunk Turk (Brian J. Smith) and her more conservative fiancé Bruce (Chad Hoeppner) lend interest to the goings-on, and finally, AA buddies Ed (Keith Randolph Smith) and Elmo (Joseph Adams) pay a much-needed call to help Doc get it together.
But the heart of the play is Lola's conflict: whether to stay with an unstable man or to leave him and strike out for herself.
S. Epatha Merkerson gives a fine performance as the vulnerable Lola, although Kevin Anderson's Doc more powerfully takes stage, in my opinion. Under Michael Pressman's astute direction, the company achieves a nice ensemble feel.
James Noone has created an effective, authentic-appearing set of a home of the era and likewise Jennifer Von Mayrhauser's costumes capture the period nicely.
This is a warm and appealing production—offering both pleasure and nostalgia, particularly for those who remember the 50s.
Diana Barth writes and publishes New Millennium, an arts newsletter.
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