Review by Alex Brooks
Hubbard Hall has opened a new production of the 80s feminist show Parallel Lives in their small black box theater
A series of loosely related vignettes about the dilemma of being a woman in the modern world, faced with the conundrums of religion and sex, clueless men, capricious supreme beings, and over-the-top feminists. Although at times it feels a bit dated, this show has moments of poignancy and hilarity that are worth the wait.
Two actresses, Jeannine Haas and Julie Waggoner, handle all the parts in these two-person sketches, and they are accomplished actresses who make the most of the material. They play young and old, male and female. Haas in particular is good at transforming herself into a male character, not with elaborate costuming, but just by the way she speaks and acts.
The script was written and first performed by Kathy Najimy (co-star with Whoopie Goldberg of Sister Act) and Mo Gaffney in the 1980s. Haas and Waggoner originated this version of the show in 2009, when they performed it in a variety of venues in and around Northampton, MA.. The current Hubbard Hall production, co-produced by Haas’ company Pauline Productions, is a reprise of that show. These are characters they know well, and they are able to play them with great assurance and panache. Although the culturally specific references are aimed more at a Northampton audience than an Eastwick audience, the charm of the show does not rely on its specific context as much as it does on the chemistry between Haas and Waggoner, the way they are able to create unexpectedly deep moments in the midst of short comic sketches.
Remaining performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm Jan. 24-25 and Jan 31-Feb 1, and Sundays at 2 pm Jan 26 and Feb 2 in the small Freight Depot Theater behind Hubbard Hall.
For more information, call Hubbard Hall at 518-677-2495 or visit their web site at www.hubbardhall.org. Hubbard Hall is at 25 East Main Street in Cambridge, NY.