Doing double duty: The Maids

Two French sisters work as maids and share a love/hate relationship with each other (and their mistress) in Jean Genet’s The Maids, the most recent offering from the Red Masquers of Duquesne University.

Director Leah Casella has taken some creative liberties with the production. 

First, she has moved it from Paris of the 1940’s to Paris during the student riots of 1968.  While it doesn’t seem to have much effect on the message of the show, it creates some interesting visual aspects for the set and the costumes.

Second, Casella has the play performed twice in one sitting.  The first time you see the play, all the roles are played by men (as Genet intended).  The play is then done again with all women in the roles.  Both times, the play is identical in terms of set, costumes and blocking.  The result leads to some interesting discussion about gender roles (both is society and in term of acting).

On the down side, it makes for a long evening of theatre—nearly three hours.  Casella probably could have made the points just as effectively (and in a more entertaining fashion) if she had edited the script.

Overall, the women fare better than the men.  I’m not sure if that’s because they perform better—or because the audience has already navigated the complex psychological mire of The Maids once already.

Standout performers include Jacob Wadsworth and Nikki Cervone (ironically both playing the same role).  Cervone truly shines and gives a performance that is electric and mesmerizing (no easy task considering she is in the second go-round of the show).

One of the advantages of university theatre is that directors have the option of choosing plays that aren’t often performed AND can apply highly creative concepts—without a concern about selling tickets to stay afloat financially.

The Maids is an excellent example of this at its best.

The Maids closed November 12.