NEW YORK—Maggie Smith's Good Heif takes us into rural territory peopled with naïve country folk. It's an understatement to say that the family portrayed here lacks imagination.
When Lad, the son (Christopher Ryan Richards) wants to know where anything interesting is located, his dad Pa (John McAdams) points toward some far-flung distant point and mutters meaningfully and with twisted lips, "It's over thar." Over thar is where none of them is permitted to go, in thought or in deed, and Lad better not get any ideas.
Best to stay put, and dig dig dig—with long, clumsy sticks, into the dry and barren ground. (Set designer Lauren Helpern's flooring of drab gray cobblestone-like sections makes the point). The land here isn't willing to give up much, and hard work without asking too many questions is the order of the day. Lad is willing to follow Pa's advice, until one day a strange physical phenomenon overtakes the boy. As a burgeoning adolescent, he's, well, he's burgeoning.
Pa sidesteps the issue, and simply informs Lad that he's becoming a man. But what about the pain, Lad inquires? In that case, Pa advises, find a "good heif" out in the pasture. That should relieve any pressure.
His mother, however, is in flat denial about anything out of the ordinary. She notices nothing unusual. In fact, when pushed for explanations she is given to abrupt and short-lived epileptic fits (skilfully and hilariously demonstrated by Barbara Pitts as Mom).
Not much help from the parental quarter. Then, out of the blue, a lovely, magical, and very female creature appears. She is quite beautiful and seductive, although her name is Ol' Heif (April Matthis). She also appears to be sprouting horns from her head, but no matter. She absolutely denies she has anything to do with "the divil." How could she, she is so appealing. Further, she is intensely interested in anything and everything about Lad. Starved for interest and affection, how could Laddy-boy resist?
The style of the production, under the imaginative directorial reins of Sarah Cameron Sunde, is broad, reminiscent of children's theatre, but with a serious undercurrent humorously expressed. Performances perfectly capture the script's ideas. As is necessary for this kind of theatre, all actors move beautifully. In fact, April Matthis demonstrates a dancer's skills, and Barbara Pitts executes terrific falls and recoveries at a split-second's notice. Rounding out the cast are Paul Klementowiez as Burly Man and Yves Rene as Old Man.
The play isn't meant to be taken literally. (At least, I don't think so). It is an allegory—about rigidity in thinking, denial of facts, negative effects of a puritanical mindset. The playwright has come up with a far-out means of executing her ideas. Who wouldda thunk it?
Good Heif
Ohio Theatre
66 Wooster Street
Tickets: (212) 868-4444 or www.smarttix.com
Closes October 28
Diana Barth writes and publishes New Millennium, a monthly arts newsletter.