Jonathan J. Miner
A scene from "Arborophilia, or the Chopping Block," produced by Strollers Theatre.
You can’t accuse Strollers Theatre of being out of touch with their audience. On the surface, their current production of Arborophilia sounds like something that a left-leaning artsy Madison audience would love. The play, by Jacob Appel, poses the question: Would you rather have one of your daughters fall in love with a poplar tree or a Republican? (Take a minute and think it over.) It’s a close call, but I’m betting many Madisonians would rather have part of the forest in the family than someone who voted for Trump. Therein lies the humor. Unfortunately, the concept for the show is the only funny or interesting thing about Arborophilia, which runs at the Bartell Theatre through March 10.
Once you get past the synopsis for the play, which features a liberal judge, a crazed capitalist, a politically ambiguous couple who seem to loathe one another, a socially awkward tree surgeon and a self-assured poplar with a death wish, there’s actually not much there. The production, directed by Coleman, isn’t funny or tragic. It’s not satirical or straight. It’s not witty or whimsical. It’s just loud and long.
As Gwendolyn, the mother of the two misguided daughters, Maxine Fleckner Ducey notes at the top of the show that “anything goes” regarding love and relationships nowadays. But that doesn’t mean she’ll ever give her blessing to her psychotic psychiatrist daughter Lily (a generally vexed Michael Rebekah Fleischman) and the cynical Republican she’s settling for (Benjamin Barlow). While Fleischman spends the entire play annoyed, Barlow amps up his volume with every line, so by the end of the show he is bellowing across the intimate Evjue Stage at decibel levels that are both inexplicable and unwarranted.
Unfortunately, Barlow is not alone in performing, seemingly, in his own private version of the play, with little consideration given to the other characters or the overall production. As the evil heiress and land developer Lucretia, Sarah Whelan does a terrific version of the cartoon villain Cruella de Vil. Meanwhile, as the mild-mannered horticulturalist, Wesley Sonheim seems like more muppet than man, as he dramatically overplays his aw-shucks, bumbling good guy character. Even the tree, the erotic and opinionated Gina M. Gomez, hams it up as she puts all of her adoring fans back in their own phylum.
The most interesting part of Arborophilia is the set, designed by Jens Hanson, an architect for Strang Inc. As all the mismatched characters try to find mates, each occupies a space that has a distinct shape. So it’s clear from the start that the girl from the square house probably won’t fit into the circular apartment, or match up with the hexagon that surrounds the much-pursued tree. Which makes the 90-minute first act seem laborious, at best.
Strollers Theatre has done some great work over their long history, bringing daring new productions to the stage. But with Arborophilia, the company has gone too far out on a limb.
