Compania

Quick mood shifts, absurd happenings and unexpected consequences -- this is Eduardo Rovner's fast-paced comedy. Since its premiere in 1995 Compania has been widely performed throughout Latin America and Spain, but incredibly this is its first appearance on New York stages.  The tranquility (and boredom) that empty nesters Ana and Osvaldo enjoy is broken when he returns late one evening.  It seems he has met a woman, Magda. Too excited to notice Ana's increasing unease, Osvaldo tracks his adventure from glances to hand holding to renting a hotel room. Ana is understandably outraged that he would tell her these things with the excuse that she is his best friend.  Osvaldo has even brought Magda home to bring them all some company, hence Rovner's title. Dowdy Magda in print dress and lace-up shoes is ebullient in contrast to Ana's low-key demeanor -- at least when unprovoked.  It is now two against one, and Magda and Osvaldo stuff cloth into Ana's mouth and tie her to a straight-backed chair to end her screaming fit.  Osvaldo and Magda plan their new life as a trio, including regular neck massages for Ana to appease her anxiety.

They release a subdued Ana, who promptly terrorizes them with her knitting needle.  But the seed is planted that will link this trio in a tortured tango. Mentally rehearsing how their union will play itself out in bed sends the sparks flying. Osvaldo hadn't counted on his becoming part voyeur to the women's intimacies, and he finally begins to see his folly. Magda is no sooner ejected than Ana asks whether Osvaldo shouldn't call her back so she can celebrate her birthday with them.

While Rovner concentrates on the hilarity of the circumstances, the characters' psychology is also intriguing. Ana has everything it takes to be a stable, if dull partner.  Certainly Osvaldo's quest for variety has the aspects of mid-life crisis with a desire to reclaim youthful thinking.  He has no intention to leave Ana behind in his attraction for Magda, whose inner fears breed her need for dominance.  Perhaps if this sparkling comedy were blacker in mood, a political interpretation would be in order.  The vast majority of people accommodate uncomfortable but attractive ideologies rather than contest them. Bourgeois mores rather than humanitarian concerns motivate calling Magda back at the end, a distinction that oppressive regimes cleverly exploit. 

The three players fully demonstrate their extensive stage experience by making credible characters within the play's absurd situations.; Vivian Deangelo's Ana is believable in her emotional trajectory from outraged wife to accommodating collaborator, while Nelson Landr eu utilizes Osvaldo's blithe character to portray a man rejuvenated by adventure.  Margarita Espinosa shows Magda's strength but also her many vulnerabilities.  As director, Landrieu never resorts to farce to make his points.  Rocio Matosas' set features dozens of empty picture frames hanging about; his lighting scheme is carefully nuanced.  Renee Rouger captures the awkwardness of the encounter in brief moments of dance.

While the play could easily sustain more extended dance interludes, Landrieu's penchant for directness makes such an approach superfluous in this animated, Spanish-language production.