Can a show about depression be funny? Even if all of the characters in the show suffer from depression? The answer is resoundingly “yes” if one is talking about Tigers Be Stillby playwright Kim Rosenstock.
The Milwaukee premiere of this offbeat, slightly crazed comedy is being staged by Boulevard Theater. The show originally was developed in 2010 by New York’s Roundabout Theater Company, which launched the premiere the same year. The play was nominated for a New York Outer Critics Circle Award, and it received a number of favorable reviews. Tigers Be Still, written when the playwright began her years as a Yale student, has gone on to play in cities such as Dallas, Portland, Oregon and Chicago (at Theater Wit).
One finds a lot of youthful angst in Tigers Be Still. This is one of its charms. As the play begins, a mother and her two adult daughters struggle to stay out of bed. The audience never sees the mother, who communicates with her children via phone from her bedroom. The mother is embarrassed about her significant weight gain following the exit of her husband (who is also unseen). The two adult daughters, however, are very much front and center for most of the production.
The older sister, Grace, is introduced by an overhead clap of thunder as she makes her first entrance. Grace has been abandoned by her fiancé. This makes her, most definitely, a “woman scorned.” She copes by repeatedly entering her former fiancé’s apartment and stealing random items. This includes his spice rack, clothing and his two pet Chihuahuas (which provokes a funny “rescue” scene later in the play).
Grace’s mood is immediately channeled by her clothing – a slovenly stretch pants and bathrobe ensemble, accompanied by a pair of hideous slippers. She appears distraught and disheveled for most of the play. Her most familiar “prop” is a bottle of Jack Daniels, and her inebriated state prompts some of the play’s funniest lines.
Her younger sister, Shelly, 24, abhors Grace’s retaliation. However, she recognizes some of what Grace is feeling. Shelly’s early dreams of finding a successful job after graduation have been jettisoned by a tough economy. She is a bit embarrassed, though grateful, that her mother intervened. She called an old beau, now a middle-school principal, in order to secure a temporary teaching position for Shelly. Shelly is not completely convinced this will work out; she gives herself a number of “pep talks” to make it through the day.
Shelly is also asked to counsel the principal’s 18-year-old son, Zach. A high-school graduate, Zach is something of a slacker. Instead of going to college, he spends his days working at CVS, then Walgreens. He is often angry and inattentive. Zach is haunted by his mother’s recent, untimely death. At first, Zach wants nothing to do with this young therapist. But eventually, he warms to Shelly’s attentions
The play’s title refers to a real-life tiger that has just escaped from the local zoo. This fact has put the entire town on edge, and the middle-school principal responds by keeping a hunting rifle in his office. This nuanced play doesn’t directly state the fact that, metaphorically, an unknown “tiger” exists within all of us. Like depression, it waits to pounce at a moment’s notice. Shelly learns that by confronting her own tiger, she can help others to deal with theirs. The play ends on a somewhat upbeat note in this respect.
This piece is a tricky one to produce, since it includes more than two dozen scene changes. Mark Bucher, the Boulevard’s artistic director, uses all his experience with the performance space to convey the constantly shifting locations. Much of this is done with lighting, music and some heavy lifting on the part of the cast. As scenery is changed, the eclectic music mix by Jaime Jastrab is as funny and entertaining as the play.
On opening night, the cast seemed somewhat tentative with the material. Only Brooke Wegner, as the older sister cheated in love, proved confident.
Wegner overplays the part to an extent that would be overkill if it wasn’t so hilarious. Shannon Tyburski, as Sherry, ably walks her character’s tightrope between sanity and insecurity. Sherry becomes the focus who unknowingly affects the lives around her. Tyburski hits the right notes to make the audience understand why this is so. For instance, Sherry is constantly unsure of her relationship with her boss, played by Jaime Jastrab. Every time she is summoned to his office, she is convinced it will lead to her firing. Their uneasy exchanges appear genuine. Jastrab is a strong man who pushes on while grieving deeply for his wife.
Josh Wallace, as the tightly wound Zach, needs to scale down his emotions somewhat. He gives away so much emotionally in the early scenes that there isn’t the necessary build-up that naturally occurs later in the script.
Playwright Rosenstock gives audiences an interesting take on how contemporary society must cope with the constant pressures that surround it. And Boulevard Theater deserves a bow for tackling this intricate, funny comedy.
