Cleveland Public Theatre and PlayhouseSquare joined forces to present Christine Howey’s Exact Change (6/11-27) at the Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre (the “Helen” for short). The autobiographical one-actor show (though in some sense aren’t all plays autobiographical?) is drawn from Ohio-born and educated Howey’s own life: first as a man and then (as of 1990) as a woman. Hers is an informed, intelligent and dramatic voice (as anyone who reads her perceptive theater reviews already knows). Director Scott Plate and Howey have worked together to create what seems to be a blend of poetry-slam-winning poetry, a stand-up comedy routine, and a confessional — all illustrated with a few family photos.
Howey, not only a writer but also an accomplished actor, has played Lucifer, Nixon, Goebbels and more in the past. Perhaps that’s why she seems completely comfortable (and a very forceful woman) in front of the audience (composed mostly of women the night I was there) as she jokes about her thoughts as a baby — “What is that thing that squirts?” — as well as her thoughts as an adult (again, personal questions about the necessity of a penis).
In what may be one of the show’s bravest gestures, Howey (who admits she’s balding) takes off her wig (I’d envied her hairdo during the show). It’s this type of unveiling that makes the show a moving exploration of one human’s identity. It raises more questions than it answers though. For example: What pushed her to go beyond simple cross-dressing? How does she feel about her father? In some ways it seems like a whole theatrical piece; in other ways, it’s a promising draft with enough ideas and characters for a riveting play populated with Howey’s parents, wife, daughter (an accomplished writer herself) all re-imagined, ala Fun Home, August in Osage County or Next to Normal.
Bottom Line? Made me remember when I was five and I was told I had to put on a shirt when I ran around the neighborhood. The boys didn’t have to. It was hot, very hot. It wasn’t fair.
Closing night is June 27, but based on this play, and Grounded in the Helen last year, both Cleveland’s Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Public Theatre are exciting places to be for theater lovers.
[Written by Laura Kennelly]Cleveland, OH 44115