"Boy Gets Girl" is a well-written, engaging play. In the first scene, Theresa (played by Fletcher), an accomplished journalist at a well-respected magazine, has been set up for a blind date in New York City with a man named Tony (Alex Ulyett '11). After the first meeting goes reasonably well, they set up a second date. At dinner, however, Theresa senses that something is a little off with Tony. She breaks it off, but to no avail. Tony continues to pursue her, constantly calling, sending flowers and dropping in unexpectedly at her office. Though Theresa is either cold or completely unresponsive to his advances, his relentless pursuit quickly becomes scary. Theresa discovers that Tony is following her and knows where she lives, and he begins to threaten her. Frightened for her life, she must decide if she will stay in the city or escape this nightmare by moving across the country and assuming a new identity.
Gilman has a talent for capturing reality on the stage. Her script is strong, with accessible, poignant, honest writing that is earnest and humble rather than self-indulgent. It does, however, have its weaknesses. The play feels more like a Lifetime channel movie than an actual play, though it is, of course, much better written. The script lacks the traditional style of the theater, instead adopting a slice-of-life outlook better suited to the camera than to the stage. At moments I literally sat up in my seat because the play was begging for a close-up.
And while the play is emotionally moving, it goes too long without payoff, with some of the scenes not adding to the play's overall momentum. Yes, the audience gets sucked into the story as it would with any well-written episodic, and yes, every scene is interesting, but not all of the scenes move the play forward. Some scenes look like slightly altered versions of others, and a more condensed script would result in a smoother play and lead the audience to anticipate each plot twist with excitement.
None of this, however, detracts from the brilliance of Fletcher's riveting performance. She has an unmistakable presence onstage, and thank goodness for it: She is in almost every scene. Fletcher imbues Theresa with so much honesty, grit and depth that we care deeply for her safety and happiness and find ourselves scared for her. She is perhaps a little too much the tight-lipped feminist stereotype we expect - I was at times put off by her coldness - but for the majority of the play, the audience loves Theresa and is invested in her story. The rest of the cast provides strong support for Fletcher, but she is the show, and she steals it.
At the dress rehearsal, technical snafus were disruptive to the flow of the show - repeated blackouts in the middle of a scene, work lights blinking on and off, heaters clicking - the works. These problems will hopefully be fixed by opening night.
A big concern, though, are the scene changes. Again, they may be tightened by show time, but the glaring issue is that Theresa is in nearly every scene and has to change clothes between almost all of them, which slows the plays down considerably. The audience's eye is drawn to Fletcher changing hurriedly onstage in the dim transition lighting. In my mind, this is giving too much attention to reality: Better to lose the costume changes and keep the play humming.
The set is a bit run down, and lighting is less than optimal, but this is unfortunately the norm at Intime, where the budget is tight, and productions are understaffed. But while the show would greatly benefit from stronger technical elements, it is not undermined by the ones it has.
Anyone who regularly reads my reviews knows I don't say this often: You need to see "Boy Gets Girl." The story will pull you in, but more importantly, you will be floored by Fletcher.
"Boy Gets Girl"
By Rebecca Gilman
Directed by Liz Dengel '10
Theatre Intime
Dec. 4-6 at 8 p.m., Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.
Student Events Eligible
4 out of 5 paws
Pros:
Strong acting
Strong writing
Cons:
Technically weak
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