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GENTLE REMINDERS FILL "LOOK MA WE'RE DANCING" By Chuck Graham TucsonStage.com Family members may not be the world's most reliable support group, but we always have to remember: home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in. Playwright Janet Neipris and the players at Invisible Theatre celebrate such enduring truths in the world premiere production of her light comedy with a heart, "Look Ma We're Dancing" directed by Gail Fitzhugh. Susan Claassen is full of feisty confusion as Vi, the intellectual sister of Franny (Susan Kovitz) the sociable sister – the one mom always liked best, at least in Vi's opinion. But now their mom has died and both women would like some resolution of the unspoken aggression that has always been keeping them apart. That's the catalyst of the plot, with Classen and Kovitz being equally strong in their portrayal of sisters more interested in doing the right thing than in stating clearly what actually is on their minds. So we watch as their individual underlying agendas gradually shift toward wanting to do the right thing. It's a little like watching their sincerity change colors as their lives weather various conflicts.
Franny is the twice-divorced sister who runs away to Montana from her East Coast upbringing in Connecticut. She has hooked up with a big cowboy named Max (James Blair) and invites Vi out from New York for a visit. The play begins with Vi's arrival in big sky country and in Franny's home proudly displaying several stuffed animal heads. Most of the first act's laughs come from Vi's fish-out-of-water comments as we learn about the years of sibling rivalry between these two. We also discover their lives have taken quite different paths to reach this point. Their mother, whom both are trying to please, has passed away some time ago. But mom is always in the picture. Act Two takes place in Vi's high-style New York apartment where all those disputes from two strong sisters gets resolved after Franny shows up with bad memories of Montana. Her life has taken a most unfortunate turn, but she is still Franny. Also involved in the story line's evolution are Burney Starks as Avery, Vi's boyfriend, and Bri Giger as Sophie the student. Most of the spotlight time goes to Claassen and Kovitz, equally energetic and evenly matched as they bounce off each other like a couple of dueling kangaroos. Out in Montana both women are basically out of their element. When the scene shifts back to New York, both are on familiar ground, although Vi definitely has the advantage. The style of humor becomes a smidge more citified, as well, though the humor is always used to make that point we can all agree on – family is always more important than anything else, no matter how badly you may wish it wasn't.
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