Last Summer at Bluefish Cove

Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
The Fountain Theatre
Through August 27

When first produced in New York in 1980, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove represented a revolution in the American theater. Jane Chambers’ drama was one of the first times that lesbians were portrayed as well-rounded, “normal” individuals, devoid of the layers of pathology with which they had previously (and rarely) been represented in drama.

The play was presented at the Fountain Theatre in 1983, where it ran for over two years and won a bevy of awards and accolades. That runaway success helped establish the Fountain as the cutting-edge production entity it has remained for the last 40 years.

The current production of Bluefish Cove at the Fountain marks the fortieth anniversary of that celebrated staging. Since then, where gay and trans rights are concerned, heartening societal changes have taken place— along with a shocking backlash of resistance to those causes.

But while Chambers’ brave and groundbreaking piece has certainly earned its rightful place in the annals of theatrical history, in terms of pure dramaturgy, it is showing its age.

We meet our cast of characters in the “lesbian beach colony” of Bluefish Cove, for decades the summer getaway for queer women looking for community and a respite from city life.

For the most part, the women assembled in the Cove in this summer of 1974 are living as couples, but there’s always the possibility of an extraneous affair and the commotion that inevitably follows.

Able actors, helmed by director Hannah Wolf, do their best to enliven Chambers’ musty archetypes but can’t always prevent their characters from slipping into caricature.

There’s Kitty (Sarah Scott Davis), a former physician who has since become a best-selling author and cherished figurehead of the women’s movement. Kitty remains carefully in the closet, ever mindful that, if she were outed, the adoring audiences on the talk show circuit would reject her feministic message. Rita (Tamika Katon-Donegal), Kitty’s secretary and partner, is a true believer in Kitty’s genius and an ardent feminist in her own right.

Famous sculptor Annie (Noelle Messier) has achieved an enviable state of domestic bliss with partner Rae (Ellen D. Williams), a sort of de facto spokesperson for the virtues of homemaking. (Williams gives a solid turn in the role, but Rae, the ardent feminist who loves scrubbing kitchen floors, strikes us as Chambers’ somewhat clumsy attempt to be inclusive.)

Blue-blooded, wealthy and insecure, menopausal Sue (Stasha Surdyke) has a history of monogamous relationships with gold-digging younger women unworthy of her. Donna (Stephanie Pardi), her lover of three year’s duration, is a particularly insufferable entry in Sue’s revolving door of youthful dalliances.

The sole single woman in the Cove is Lil (Ann Sonneville), an adventuresome spirit who has had affairs, both long and short term, with several of the Cove’s residents. In a twist of fate (and an effective meet cute), Eva (Lindsay LaVanchy), having just fled her overbearing husband, rents a cabin in the Cove, completely unaware that she has blundered into a lesbian enclave.

Before long, Eva and Lil are embroiled in a torrid affair — a life-changing bond that Eva assumes will be long lasting. But Lil is dealing with a medical condition that she’s kept carefully secret from Eva, convinced that their ecstatic new relationship — her first real love — will protect her from any peril this condition may bode.

We know better. In fact, we see the inevitable denouement coming a country mile down the road.

Barely skirting melodrama, Bluefish Cove is a sort of lesbian Love Story, a wannabe weepie that, although sweet and engrossing, has a movie-of-the-week quality that may not deeply resonate with modern-day audiences.

The amazingly prolific Chambers died at age 45, at the peak of her popularity and success. But one can only wonder if a decade or more of artistic maturation would have smoothed the rough edges off her already considerable talent and given rise to the truly deathless drama intimated in her landmark, culturally essential works.

The Fountain Theatre’s Outdoor Stage, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles. Fri.-Mon 7 pm, through August 27.  www.FountainTheatre.com. Two hours including 15-minute intermission.