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(L to R: Heather Skelley (Matilde), Monica Cappuccini (pictured as Ana), Ana Kuchins (Virginia), Melanie DuPuy (Lane); Photo credit: Joyce Morrell)

The constant thread the four women and the one man face in this play is that they are all trying to release whatever is restricting them from living their best, most content life. Heather Skelley’s portrayal of Matilde, Lane’s live-in maid, is a driving performance that is well-handled in Miss Skelley’s hands. Matilde is restricted by not having the funniest person alive (her father) around anymore to tell good jokes; literally, Matilde’s mother died from laughing to death. Throughout the play, Matilde is in constant struggle to find the funniest joke, one which is spoken in her native language, one which the English-only speaking audience never learns. Miss Skelley is strong in delivering comedic high points and somber dramatic ones, embracing the ability to turn emotions on a dime without any setback in pace. Melanie DuPuy plays Lane, the woman who has hired Matilde to clean her house. However, Matilde doesn’t like to clean houses and eventually “employs” Lane’s sister, Virginia, to clean it for her. The sisterly connection between Miss DuPuy and Ann Kuchins, who plays Virginia, is solid all production long. The two share looks, giggles, and inflections that showcase a well of subtext and history between the two, making their argumentative discussions all the more profound to see unfold. Though Miss DuPuy tends to draw attention to her character type in her physicality more often than not, she excels in the more subdued turns as she tries to overcome her recent divorce and accept that sometimes life is messy.

(Heather Skelley (Matilde) and Ana Kuchins (Virginia); Photo credit: Joyce Morrell)

Miss Kuchins is an exemplary comedic actress, delivering a great performance stemming from honest delivery that sticks true to Ruhl’s text and Miss Gasper’s direction. Miss Kuchins’ interactions with Miss Skelley have their fair share of hilariously awkward moments, even as a loving friendship is organically developed in just a short amount of time. Playing the two elder lovers in the play are Tom Woosnam as Charles and Monica Cappuccini as Ana. These two complement each other both romantically and dramatically within Miss Gasper’s excellent staging of their relationship. Both actors are more than capable at displaying the fledgling love they share, even if they (as the roles demand) are along in years. Doubling as Matilde’s parents in several of her flashbacks, both Mr. Woosnam and Miss Cappuccini transcend both sets of adult characters flawlessly, thanks in part to Miss Gasper’s expert costume design. Miss Ruhl makes it a point, within the script, to make visually apparent what each character represents in greater society, a task that Miss Gasper’s costume design and Doug McCurdy’s breathtaking scenic design accomplish with ease.

(Monica Cappuccini and Tom Woosnma (pictures as Matilde's parents); Photo credit: Joyce Morrell)