Last season I was privileged to see the production of this "silent movie opera" at New York's Vineyard Theater. I was so impressed I hesitated to attend the inaugural production at the Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts in Washington's lavishly renovated Jewish Community Center. No need for faint heart. Artistic Director Hoeflich has directed an exquisite show.
Holly Rudkin is a slender, dark-haired beauty and in fine voice as Ludmilla, vied over by husband Nikolai (Stephen F. Schmidt) and lover, Voloyda (Jeffrey Coon). Youthful, ruddy-cheeked Coon is a nice counter, as well as rival, to the maturity of Schmidt, and both have sure voices. (The quality of Coon's performance is particularly commendable, considering that he was a last minute replacement.) The 250-seat Cecile Goldman Theater, Washington's newest performing space, is a jewel of acoustical precision, as well as comfort. The tiers of beautifully apolstered gold seats are sufficiently raked to assure good visibility for all patrons. Quite a change from the make-shift space in the living room of a Dupont Circle townhouse that served for years as the theater's home. For Bed and Sofa, the small stage is cluttered with designer Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden's set of the tiny apartment shared by the love triangle, and the orchestra members are scattered to the four corners of the stage. Hoeflich makes interesting use of the space; when Nikolai is out-of-town on a construction assignment, Voloyda and Ludmilla attend a movie in the upper side balcony, bathed in golden light. Pen and Klavan based their work on Abram Room and Victor Shklovsky's satiric Soviet 70-year-old silent movie of the same name.
Due to the housing shortage prevalent in 1926 Russia, Voloyda joins the couple's residence as boarder, with predictable complications. An added delight is the unexpected ending, when Ludmilla, finding herself pregnant by one of her "husbands," both of whom wish her to have an abortion, bids them adieu, seeking a new life with her unborn child. While the characters may be suffering cramped quarters, subscribers can rejoice in this new space, as well as the ability of Theater J to offer Actor's Equity contracts, which opens up the range of performers the theater can employ.
