Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House is a bit of a mish mash; it has elements of farce, and it's also about dying of cancer. Early on, it seems an inane attempt to be amusing, with the maid (Vanessa Aspillaga) as psychotherapist. Jill Clayburgh gives a terrific performance as a quirky, insecure, repressed housewife obsessed with cleaning, and Blair Brown is fine as the odd MD; Act 2 has some nice stylized movement and dance, and it seems a totally different play. This one's about falling in love with someone who has breast cancer and features other actors -- John Dossett and a wonderful Marilyn Dodds Frank -- as an older couple. These scenes have a poetic undertone and are much more interesting and entertaining, with some touching moments, all nicely directed by Bill Rauch. Then it turns silly again, with an occasional laugh, and there is some apple throwing and stage cluttering, and then it reaches the point of being annoying. There is also too much Portuguese spoken, and some of the supertitles are hard to read.
The Clean House is stylishly designed by Christopher Acebo and lighted by James F. Ingalls. All in all, it's not a bad visit to a basically loony world performed by very good actors.
