David Hare is one of my favorite living playwrights, especially his plays that deal with political issues which form a big part of his oeuvre. I was looking forward to finally seeing the 1998 play The Blue Room, his two-person adaptation of Arthur Schnitzier’s La Ronde, which deals with the age old subject of sexual politics. The play was infamous when first done because of the brief nudity of star Nicole Kidman in London and then on Broadway. Reaact is presenting the play as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. For unknown reasons, the show was late starting which is a no-no at the Fringe. As a result the performance I reviewed was cut short—the final two scenes were not performed. Director Rose Fliegel’s staging seemed to rush the action through the ten scenes as one lover proceeds to the next who then proceeds on to the next. The Girl seduces the Cab Driver who then seduces the Au Pair and around they go. It was an interesting outing but for all the sex and disrobing, it came across as fairly sterile, not the least bit prurient. Kenia Romero different show much delineation in her various characters. She may have changed her clothes but her persona stayed pretty much the same. Faring much better was Christopher Cedeno. There were distinct differences between his young, innocent Student and his image conscious Politician and his verbose Playwright etc. The pop music soundtrack during the brief scene changes was a big plus. A funny bit was flashing the time of each tryst on the back wall, from seconds for the student to hours for the more experienced men.
http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4596