Stamping out fine, family feeling in ‘Mauritius’
BY SANDY ILLIAN BOSCH sbosch@pioneerlocal.com February 7, 2012 8:44PM
Jim Murphy (from left), and Karen Arnold, both of Westmont, with David Rodriguez of Orland Park in "Mauritius" at the Theatre of Western Springs.
‘Mauritius’
Theatre of Western Springs, 4384 Hampton Ave., Western Springs
Feb. 9-19
$18 and $20
(708) 246-3380 or visit www.theatrewesternsprings.com
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Updated: February 9, 2012 3:23PM
Stamp collecting might not seem like the stuff of dramatic theater. The Theatre of Western Springs will prove otherwise when it stages its second Forum production of the 83rd season, “Mauritius.”
The play by Theresa Rebeck is named for the place where some of the earliest and most sought-after postage stamps were produced, said Adrianne Cury of Oak Park, who returns to Theatre of Western Springs as the production’s guest director.
“It sort of feels a little bit like coming home,” said Cury, who last directed “Sense and Sensibility” at TWS in 2009.
“It’s not a pretty play. It’s not an easy play,” Cury said.
And while its five characters are each markedly flawed, it is those characters and their developing relationships with each other that make this play a worthwhile experience, said Sue Cardamone of Western Springs.
Cardamone plays Mary, one of two estranged half-sisters who come together over their family’s valuable stamp collection. Mary wants to keep it. Jackie, played by Karen Arnold of Westmont, wants to find the highest bidder.
Cardamone called “Mauritius” a “realistic and gritty” piece of theater that takes dysfunction to the extreme.
“There is profanity, there is fighting,” she said.
There also are moments of dark comedy, and ultimately, Cardamone said, there is a deep and multifaceted look at how people relate to one another.
“This play is really all about relationships,” Cardamone said.
Rob Nardini of Naperville, Jim Murphy of Westmont and David Rodriguez of Orland Park portray a trio of conniving philatelists, each desperate to get their hands on the crown jewels of stamps.
“Mauritius,” Rebeck’s Broadway debut, had its world premiere at
the Boston Center for the Arts in 2006. Best known for her many works for the stage, Rebeck also
is a television writer/producer, a screenwriter and a novelist. Her television credits include writing for “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” and “L.A. Law,” among others. She is the creator of the new TV series “Smash,” which debuted on NBC Feb. 6.
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