Not So Mad About Madison

Maybe I needed that afternoon coffee after all. I found it challenging to remain engaged with A Weekend Near Madison. Was it just me, or was this play uncomfortably long? While there was no shortage of talent on the stage, and the script offered up some thought provoking and moving moments, I found the performance, as a whole, rather lacklustre. 

For the first fifteen minutes, I felt like I was watching a rehearsal. (Okay, it was a first performance.) The actors looked vaguely uncomfortable, delivering their lines without a great deal of commitment, and while the play never really transported me, things did improve slowly.

Most notable was Michael Germant. He brought a tender honesty to the role of Jimmy who, as the play unfolds, faces a rather shocking request from his former girlfriend, now a lesbian folk singer. In a moving speech, Jimmy struggles with the shifting attitudes of masculinity while wishing for a return to more traditional notions. Germant handles it beautifully.

Other enjoyable aspects included the cozy set. It was simple and homely with gorgeous, warm lighting. Thankfully, The Cultch’s comfortable seating mitigated the 80 minutes spent watching a 47 minute play. 

There were some truly funny and memorable moments - some owed to occasional clever writing, others to fine performances -  but these were inconsistent. I found myself wondering if my lack of enthusiasm for this performance was due to uneven writing. Some dialogue was engaging and entertaining, while other bits came across as somewhat preachy. Or was it because the characters often seemed to just exist on stage rather than come alive. Unfortunately the elements that could have made this a much better experience needed fine tuning. There was definitely a spark, but in this performance the spark failed to ignite.