Theatre in Review: Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotica in the Woods (HERE)The title tells almost all about Emma Horwitz and Bailey Williams' mad romp, which indeed frequently focuses on two sisters and is loaded with lesbian erotica -- not the steamy, noir-lit kind pioneered by Ann Bannon in the years before Stonewall, but the girl-on-girl version of the stories once found in the letters section of Penthouse magazine. (No examples will be supplied.) When not spinning out explicit encounters set in a low dive known as The Dyke Barn, Horwitz and Williams are whizzes at dreaming up meet-cute situations that quickly turn into domination scenarios rife with absurd possibilities. And then there are the bouts of art-world attitudinizing and conspiracy theories: It's a wild trip down a rabbit hole of farcical sex encounters, spelled by sketches that, among other things, dwell on the dangers of attacks by lesbians from outer space. Consider yourself warned. The much more successful first half of Two Sisters... includes a riotous meet-the-artist talkback in which Horwitz interviews Williams, portraying a theory-ridden multimedia diva whose latest caper "was a performance alongside a series of hand-knit 'relics' of famous lesbians that had been encased in glass, or reliquaries, set on display in the lobbies of cultural centers, and then shrouded in dental sheet." The wise, knowing manner with which Williams delivers such dubious aesthetic tidbits only makes them more priceless. (Adding to the amusement, the interviewer and subject are both deeply entangled with Valentina, an art-world star whom neither has actually met in person, injecting their chat with all sorts of sub rosa hostilities.) Later, Horwitz, as a desperate housewife beset by an army of children, engages the services of Williams as a combination babysitter and "pizza girl." "I have so many jobs because I have sooooo many skills," she notes cheerily. "Last year, I received ten separate W2s." (Somehow, this scene segues into an opera titled La Gallina Lesbica; don't ask me to explain this.) They also appear as representatives of the "National Institute for Paranormal Psychic Lesbian Investigations," aka NIPPLI. (You can imagine the logo for yourself.) This cues a series of testimonials from audience members standing in for Emily Dickinson, Cynthia Erivo, Margaret Cho, and fashionista Jenna Lyons. One of them recalls finding a stash of lesbian erotica behind her local JCPenney outlet. Where better? The stars make quite a pair: Williams brings a deadpan sincerity to the silliest proposition, combined with a knack for throwing away gag lines to maximum effect. Horwitz oozes goodwill, a slightly deranged glint in her eye that dares us to admit we're all in on the joke. For more than half of the piece's running time, they free-associate their way through all sorts of situations involving sister acts, witches, spotted sphinx cats, and God knows what else. At a certain point, however, the script's structure starts to resemble a bridge to nowhere, as one sketch morphs into another, with no end in sight. For a remarkably long time, Two Sisters... coasts on the stars' skills and likability, but the laughter grows noticeably thinner, and one begins to yearn for something, anything, to bring the action to a meaningful full stop. If the director, Tara Elliott, can't untangle the unruly script structure, she keeps the action popping at a fast pace, and she has elicited suitably witty work from her designers. Normandy Sherwood's scenic design consists of hundreds of banker's boxes bearing titles like "Disco Divas," "Butch Heiresses," Middle-Aged Actresses," and "Vibrators." (Behind the boxes lurks a forest, not revealed until just before the end.) At different points, the boxes disgorge a tiny opera stage and a dance club. Also, when a top is lifted off a box, Josiah Davis provides an eerie uplight effect, and Johnny Gasper adds what sounds like a space-age device whirring up. Gasper also provides a fun playlist of tunes, including "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga and "Guess" by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish. Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotic in the Woods is a prank, a provocation, a sometimes-inspired spoof that lacks a solid structure to guide it all the way to the finish line. Still, based on the audience response at the performance I attended, a following appears to be forming around Horwitz and Williams, for good reason. This co-production of Rattlestick Theatre and New Georges is an introduction to a pair of humorists who have it in them to go far. --David Barbour 
|
