Lavender Love
written and directed by Odalys Nanin
Macha Theatre
through June 18
Hardly a heavyweight, fascinatingly exotic drama as was the case with Odalys Nanin's Garbo's Cuban Lover, the one-act Lavender Love, now on stage @ the Macha Theatre, still has enough Hollywood nostalgia, sensuality and camp going for it to call it enjoyable.
Nanin has a good eye for staging her hour-long piece and as director makes excellent use of the space and keeps the pace quick and bright. Casting a lighter perspective on the pessimistic predictions of the world coming to an end with the Mayan calendar on New Year's Eve 2011, Nanin places a broke and heartbroken girl Alas Nin (Lidia Ryan) in an uncompromising situation after she has stolen some chicken Mcnuggets from McDonald's. A security guard (O'Neil Cespedes) gives her the opportunity to hide underground where the Garden of Allah Hotel used to be - instead of getting arrested by the police - and once there, she touches an artifact that transplants her to the year 1920, also New Year's Eve, where she encounters silent film star Madame Alla Nazimova (Nanin), her protege Natasha (Stephanie Ann Saunders), Rudolph Valentino (Kristian Steel) and future cinematographer Paul Ivano (Drew Hinckley) living a life of decadence within two Hollywood lavender marriages. In the 20s it was unheard of for a gay man or lesbian to come out, if they valued their careers. Once inside the palazzo, Nin becomes a pawn for Nazimova, who enjoys a multitude of sexual trysts, and is offered a chance to star in one of Nazimova's films. It is tempting for her to stay, especially since her life in 2011 is such a flop. She has left behind a girlfriend Evie Raven (Michelle Bernard), a Latina with a thick Puerto Rican accent - and although they have broken off, Nin calls her on her cell for help. Raven tells her of a threatening tsunami in LA, but in spite of it all, sets out, retracing Nin's steps and tries to find her in the past and bring her back to the future. Of course, once in 1920, Raven and Nazimova clash over Nin, causing jealousy from Natasha as well. The plot thickens, but before you can stop to think about it, the two ladies from 2011 escape and end up on a futuristic island. What's the message? Catastrophes may occur in 1920 or in 2011, but two things are secure: love-making never dies and career opportunities forever abound.
It's silly, but campy and fun. The cast is uniformly good, with Nanin, Saunders, Steel and Bernard stealing their moments. Nanin and Saunders make stunning 20s movie queens, Steel is deliciously promiscuous as Valentino and Bernard is a hoot with her thick comedic accent a la Googie Gomez from The Ritz. John Toom has done a fine job with a very adaptable set and Christina Washington's costume design for the ladies is gorgeous. Background film clips help in a humorous way to move the plotline back and forth between 1920 and 2011.
For those that want their plays more cutting edge, Lavender Love may be disappointing, but its light camp approach to some overly promoted news issues makes it a delightfully frothy one-act that would pair nicely with a cabaret featuring fun-filled film scores from the 20s to the present day. Lanchbery, Peters and Gottschalk's score for 1921's Orphans of the Storm comes to mind as well as John Williams' score for Back to the Future from 1985, both of which fit the sci-fi, adventurous tone of this piece. Gay audiences will love the sparring between Nazimova (referred to as a gran Puta) and Raven (called wetback trash) and just about every other decadently frivolous part of it.
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