'Clean House' a tidy comedy, but could use more heart

By: PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 5, 2008 12:47 PM PST ∞

On first inspection, Sarah Ruhl's comedy "The Clean House" passes the white-glove test. Fresh, zippy, funny, and occasionally poignant, the 2005 Pulitzer Prize nominee has become one of the nation's most-produced plays in the past two years. But on closer inspection, "The Clean House" ---- now in its San Diego premiere with San Diego Repertory Theatre ---- could use a deep scrub to uncover the sparkle hiding underneath.

"The Clean House" is the story of Lane, an aloof, controlling doctor in a "Metaphysical Connecticut," whose lazy Brazilian maid, Matilde, would rather be a stand-up comic; whose detached surgeon husband, Charles, leaves her for his much-older breast-cancer patient, Ana; and whose neurotic, intrusive sister, Virginia, is secretly making house calls to clean Lane's toilets and dig through her laundry basket. When Charles treks to Alaska to find a cure for Ana's cancer, Lane uncovers in herself an untapped wellspring of compassion, Virginia finds her purpose and Matilde finds "the perfect joke" to heal Ana's soul, if not her body.

There's much potential in the play's "life is messy" metaphor, but the script never seems to scour deep enough to emotionally connect the audience to its message. Director Sam Woodhouse works hard to juice the show with color, humor and energy, but the play's pleasant aftertaste fades quickly. A problem with this production is Victoria Petrovich's sterile, all-white living room set, which is so vast, the widely placed actors often end up artificially shouting many of their lines to each other in the first act. The dialogue warms only in the second act, when the characters gather tightly on a sunny balcony to sample apples or pile on a couch to share a tub of chocolate ice cream.

While Ruhl's well-intentioned female-bonding script has its moments ---- with bright flashes of comedy, particularly in the delightfully oddball character of Virginia (quirkily portrayed by Annie Hinton) ---- its structure is a mix of clashing theatrical styles. Dashes of absurdism, farce, musical theater and magical realism are stirred together in a fast-paced, sound effects-accented pastiche. The play's focus shifts constantly between characters, never following any of them long enough to make them especially interesting ---- though as Ana, Ivonne Coll projects a dying nobility and an inner glow that gives her character a dimension that the script does not.

Veteran San Diego actress Rosina Reynolds ---- who has played brittle, hard women in several plays this past year ---- is more broadly comic this time as the uptight Lane. The underwritten character of the maid Matilde ---- who delivers her jokes in Portuguese and recounts tales of her dead parents' sensual, joyful life in Brazil ---- is played with earthiness and subtlety by Claudia Vazquez. And Ron Choularton brings bright comic flashes, romantic befuddlement and truly terrible dance skills to the small role of Charles.

"The Clean House" runs a tidy two hours, with intermission. Thanks to Woodhouse's sight gags, Christian DeAngelis' multihued lighting and Jennifer Brawn Gittings' costumes, it's an eye-catching play. But scratch the surface, and it's a bit of a mess underneath.

"The Clean House"

When: 7 p.m. Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays; 2 p.m. March 8 and 22; through March 22

Where: San Diego Repertory Theatre at the Lyceum, 79 Horton Plaza, San Diego

Tickets: $29-$48

Info: (619) 544-1000

Web: www.sandiegorep.com

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