Sisters Three
Reviewed by Deborah Klugman
The Inkwell Theater
Through January 20, 2019
The Brontë sisters were part of a talented, tightknit family whose contributions to the canon of English literature include Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, by Charlotte and Emily respectively. Tragically, none of the siblings lived long; Charlotte died at 38, surviving her brother and four sisters, none of whom made it past 30.
In Sisters Three, a world premiere directed by Annie McVey at VS. Theatre, Jami Brandli appropriates the Brontë surname and the first names of the three most famous sisters — Anne, Emily and Charlotte — to her trio of characters. She also plays off the historical record by giving these women a dead brother whom they deeply mourn, as the Brontës of record had, and did, and transposes some of the trivia we know about their private lives into the web of her story.
Otherwise, the script, which supposedly takes inspiration from this literary family, has little in common with historical events. Set in the here and now, the first hour of this 90-minute piece plays as a two-hander between Anne (Kara Hume), a social-media-crazed bubblehead; and E.J. (Dana DeRuyck) — which stands for Emily Jane — a brilliant gay mathematician intent on resolving the Riemann Hypothesis, a theory involving the distribution of prime numbers.
At opening, Anne is putting the finishing touches on a canoe she’s assembled; she plans to row out to a nearby island to “rescue” Charlotte (Robyn Cohen), who’s abandoned her career as a food professional to join a primitive commune. During this hour, the tension builds around the personality differences between the frivolous Anne and the serious-minded E.J. who (we’re told) is bipolar and currently upset over the uncertainty of her romantic future with a coworker. The conflict intensifies once the recollection of their brother enters the picture, with each woman claiming to have a special bond with their deceased beloved and brandishing swords at each other to prove their point.
Is there incest involved somewhere? The playwright doesn’t pursue this thread, and the question (in my mind, anyway) isn’t resolved. If there’s a message or overriding theme to this interchange, it’s unclear to me. It appears we’re meant to appreciate this scenario solely for its entertainment value and the off-kilter eccentricity of these two individuals.
The oddity factor ups mightily, in fact, at the sudden entrance of wildly unkempt Charlotte, who recounts the bizarre dramatic events that have just taken place in the commune and whose unhinged rant makes both of her offbeat sisters appear paragons of normalcy.
This tail end of the production turns out to be quite satisfying, actually, mainly because Cohen is so manically convincing as a hitherto conventional person who has gone off the rails. And though her performance may not pack the same resounding punch, Hume is consistently engaging as the ditzy Anne, obsessed with Facebook and tweets and in ludicrous competition with her catty friend Dakota (whom we never see). DeRuyck’s E.J., whose character essentially represents the sane person in this asylum, hasn’t been developed much beyond a blueprint.
As with Moving Arts’ recently mounted Bliss — also an updated spin on classical characters — the play is mildly amusing and provides meaty roles for women performers, which is all to the good. But it offers few insights, nor does it seem to have much of a point.
VS. Theatre, 5453 W. Pico Blvd., Mid-Wilshire; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; (added performances at 8 p.m. on Thurs., 12/20 & 12/27 and Mon., 1/7 & 1/14); through Jan. 20, 2019. https://inkwelltheater.com. Approximately 85 minutes with no intermission.
