A Review

Playing Post Office

By R. J. Donovan

With the exception of The Cleavers (Ward, Wally, June and Jerry Mathers as The Beave), most families are dysfunctional. It's just a matter of degree. Very few get through life without their share of highly emotional conflicts.

That said, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who can't relate to Theresa Rebeck's "Mauritius," currently in its world premiere courtesy of the Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion. Performances are through November 12. Rebecca Bayla Taichman directs the production.

As the story opens, fidgity Jackie (Marin Ireland, at left with Michael Aronov) enters a seedy philatelic shop clutching a notebook containing what we soon learn is a fairly comprehensive stamp collection. Her mother has died, the collection is a part of the estate, and she has a question as to the value of the inheritance she's clutching.

Philip, the cranky appraiser (Robert Dorfman) wants nothing to do with her. However she encounters Dennis (Michael Aronov, above with Ireland), a Travolta-Fonzie-ish stamp fan who senses the hidden value of the collection and immediately sees a pigeon in his midst. And although Dennis is trying very hard to act cool, there is still a question whether the stamps are authentic or just some really good fakes.

Either way, he can't score by himself. So, enter Sterling (James Gale), the seemingly unbalanced money man from London who puts rare stamps on a pedestal equal to that of the Holy Grail. He starts off more ominous than he ends up, but he's still a piece of work.

When Jackie's uptight, half-sister Mary appears (Laura Latreille, at left), the question of legal ownership comes into play. And it turns out, this is only one chink in the family's emotional armor. Mary escaped the family home after her Mom remarried, although we're not told why. She wasn't there when her Mom died. Nor did she help out during her mother's fairly horrendous illness. All that fell to Jackie.

The siblings clash over past responsibilities, slights and relationships. Mary has glowing childhood memories of pouring over the stamp collection with her grandfather -- emphasis on the "her." Mary and Jackie share the same mother, but different fathers, and hence, different grandfathers. In Mary's eyes, that makes the stamps her inheritance, not Jackie's. And she refuses to part with even a single stamp.

So is Jackie just a cold-hearted opportunist ready to collect on a windfall? Or is she seeking simple acknowledgment for some of her past sacrifices? And should we see Mary as a sheltered, unbending prude incapable of viewing the bigger picture, or does she see more than she lets on?

Rebeck cleverly twists the plot to keep your guessing. Is stamp-collecting the past time of geeks, is it a valid method of investment or does it simply provide a social bond for those with a common interest?

A dark comedy with its share of dramatic twists, "Mauritius" is a smartly presented evening graced by a series of thoughtfully sketched performances. Each of the characters is sadly flawed. And like a dog chasing its own tail, they all spend a lot of time feverishly trying to manipulate each other with less than shining results.

As an ensemble, the cast is superior, however Aronov is a joy to watch as Dennis, the oozing, street-wise, pseudo-intellectual who always thinks he's got the situation under control. As well, Latreille adds some very subtle physical touches to her performance as Mary, creating a prim, small-town homebody whose glowing memories seem genuine.

While "Mauritius" is more a comedy than a mystery, there are a multitude of questions posed but never answered. When Jackie enters the stamp shop at the top of the show, Phil refuses to help her. He's obviously got a reason, but it's never clarified. We also don't know why Mary fled her home, what awful situation occurred with Jackie's father, what terrible thing Sterling did to Phil to sour their relationship, and how Dennis came to be lurking in the stamp shop to begin with.

Perhaps all those questions don't need to be answered, but a little information would help flesh out some of the relationships. Either way, Rebeck spins her tale to a heady conclusion, which may or may not have a tidy little ending.

Leaving a few questions hanging is perhaps a more accurate reflection of real life -- we don't always have all the answers or know who we're up against. And a bit of a puzzle here and there serves to leave you guessing.

In the end, it can be startling to learn that even the most mild-mannered folks have been sitting on some pretty amazing secrets.

"Mauritius" is at The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Avenue in Boston, through November 12. For information, call 617-266-0800 or log onto www.huntingtontheatre.org.

Production Photos: Eric Antoniou

-- OnStage Boston

 

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