By Bridgette M. Redman
Glenn Close (Joe Bailey, back center) looks over Michael Douglas (Jon Ager, front center) and his family, wife Anne Archer (Melissa Beckwith, front left) and daughter Ellen Hamilton Latzen (Tim Kay, front right) in the Who Wants Cake? production of "Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy." Photo: Colleen Scribner.
In 1987, Glenn Close "scared the shit" out of men thinking of having an affair – or so she claims they still tell her. In the personage of director Joe Bailey, Close is more hilarious than scary even with a Greek chorus intoning the dangers of the WORKING WOMAN.
Who Wants Cake? reprises "Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy" with a vim and gusto that keeps the audience roaring with laughter. From the familiar '80s tunes to the gender-bending child and mistress, everything about "Fatal Attraction" is over the top. It all works because each of the actors is fully committed to the style, the physical humor and the farce.
"Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy" opens with the four members of the Greek chorus, complete with the half masks of yore. They introduce us to the morality tale of Michael Douglas, a lawyer who has a sizzling affair with Glenn Close, a brash working woman. Anne Archer is the loving, domestic wife who constantly repeats how much she loves to cook while their daughter Ellen begs for a rabbit.
The Greek Chorus plays all the other roles, including that of telephone, 8-track player and elevator. They break out in dance numbers ranging from Prince to Hall and Oates. Dyan Bailey, Suzan Jacokes, Richard Payton and Joe Plambeck never let the energy dip and keep the laugh track flying. Even when they are just providing background chatter, their exchanges are hilarious, especially when they are businesspeople at a meeting and they rebuke each other for bringing up things that haven't been invented yet.
Melissa Beckwith's Anne Archer simpers in the perfect parody of a Good Housekeeping devoted housewife. With flawless timing, she never lets herself be overshadowed by the more exaggerated roles. Likewise, Tim Kay's Ellen Hamilton Latzen mocks the stereotype of sweet child, turning her into an androgynous half-wit obsessed with getting a rabbit.
It is Joe Bailey's Close and Jon Ager's Michael Douglas, though, that keep this comedy in the side-splitting zone. Bailey is outrageous from the moment he first steps onto the stage in his curly blond wig and long, slinky dress. The connection between Ager and Bailey is comic from the first glance, making promises that are fulfilled in scene after scene as they show a willingness to go big and stay big. Played by a male actor, Glenn Close is never vulnerable, rather acting Medea-like in true Greek fashion.
Atana McNair and Kate Wilkinson's satire continually provides fodder that the actors consume with relish. "Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy" effectively parodies movies in general as well as the 1987 film. There are repeated montages done beautifully with freezes and lights out, poking at one genre after another while never slowing down the break-neck pace. There is even a dream sequence where the chorus takes over as the named characters.
Like the movie, the stage version is R-rated, filled with simulated sex, strong language and some gross blood and guts. So leave the kids at home, but do treat yourself to an entertaining evening of raunchy comedy.
REVIEW:
'Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy'
Who Wants Cake, Ringwald Theatre, 22742 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Friday-Monday through March 14. $10-$20. 248-545-5545. http://www.whowantscaketheatre.com
