It’s 1942 in Cleveland, and Maggie Dalton is valiantly trying to keep the Oberon Playhouse open and functioning through WWII, while her husband Andrew and other troupe members are serving overseas. Maggie, stage manager Stuart and costume/prop manager Ida are determined that the show will go on. Celeste, the company’s sole remaining player, is a wonderfully melodramatic actress indeed. Maggie and Stuart host auditions, bringing acting neophytes June and Grace into the troupe.
Thus begins Into The Breeches! which just had a month-long run at the Cleveland Play House. The story was inspired by CPH’s own attempt to keep going during WWII.
All characters are shown growing and developing during rehearsals, each in their rich and logical paths. They share their contributions to the war effort, as well as their deeply personal concerns, the infrequent letters from abroad, their fear about loved ones’ well-being. African-American Ida shares her confrontations with racism, while Stuart is dealing with being turned down by the military due to his perceived sexual orientation. They bond over this, and turn their sadness into creativity for the troupe with some wonderful and creative staging and costume solutions.
Women taking men’s places is a developing theme throughout the show. Celeste thinks that the female performers should learn to walk like men. She guides them through a hilarious striding and posturing routine. Guffaws were heard throughout the theater, and this reviewer was laughing as loud as anyone. Ida, witnessing this routine, comes up with a physical aid in this endeavor. The women of the troupe, attired in Ida’s creative device, truly strut their stuff upon the stage.
Each character is perfectly cast, but Winifred is perhaps the most satisfyingly developed. From a visibly nervous amateur rattling off her lines at breakneck speed, she transforms into a masterful comic performer, stealing scenes with hilariously splendid aplomb.
We are taken along with this heroic troupe and their hopes, dreams, problems and wartime situations. They are a family, becoming more so with each shared problem, each reminder of the war raging “over there.” Our troupe crafts solutions to gender, race and financial problems with grace and determination.
We root for them as they stand strong and adapt to the changing needs of their ambitious Henry IV and V production, as all Americans were having to adapt their lives, thoughts and values during WWII. Maggie steps out and does the perfect ending to this most marvellous play: ‘….enjoy the show!’
Once more Into the Breeches, dear friends! Master Shakespeare would indeed be proud.