From October 13th to October 21st, the Brooklyn College Theater Department performed Jordan Harrison’s “Act a Lady” at the Connelly Theater. Set during the Prohibition Era, the story follows three small town men as they put on their very own play, a French melodrama, for charity. Although this sounds like a great idea, there is one problem that has the entire Midwestern town up in arms- the men have to perform in drag. This play-in-a-play format challenges gender roles and conservative societal norms as the characters onstage leak into reality and vice versa. “Act a Lady” was certainly enjoyable to watch, with the drag adding some humor along with its societal commentary. However, there were points where the constant cross-dressing and role-switching became confusing, especially during the second act. Overall, this play was definitely worth seeing.

Dana Chavez as Zina

The biggest contributor to the success of this production was the impressive ability of the actors to switch between their roles and the roles played by their characters in the French melodrama. Patrick O’Konis, for example, doubled as a man named True and as a woman named Countess Roquefort. When acting as True, O’Konis was a hyper-masculine smooth talker who tries to seduce the backstage makeup artist, Lorna. But when depicting Countess Roquefort, O’Konis transformed into an over-the-top royal who thirsts for love and revenge. This duality perfectly encapsulated the superb acting abilities of O’Konis and paired greatly with the other actors on stage. In addition, it made the audience interested in both the storyline revolving around the small Midwestern town and the story of the French royal society.

Although the drag and dual roles were great in the first half of the play, Act II seemed to fall flat because of the role-switching. In the second half, not only did the men switch roles, but the women did as well. Sarah Beitch acted as both Dorothy and as Dorothy’s husband, Miles. Dana Chavez appeared as both the strong-willed play director Zina and as the effeminate Casper. Andriana Georgitsis took on the roles of the makeup artist Lorna and the aforementioned True. This dynamic made the second half of the play hard to follow. Firstly, the trading of characters between men and women was unexpected, making the audience readjust how they viewed each character. This would be an interesting aspect of the play given the theme of art leaking into reality; however, the intentions behind it were lost due to poor execution. Beitch, Chavez, and Georgitsis are great actresses; this is apparent in their stellar performances as their female characters. But they failed to convincingly portray the same characters as their male counterparts. The actresses simply could not encapsulate the mannerisms and likeness of the male actors, but of course doing so is no easy feat and recognition is given for their efforts. It is worth wondering, however, if a clearer portrayal of the characters would improve the overall flow of the play.

Harrison Marx (left) and Nelson Orellana (right) as Lady Romola Von Plofsdorf and Greta the Maid, respectively

All in all, “Act a Lady” was an enjoyable production. Despite the rocky second half, the Brooklyn College Theater Department succeeded in putting together a production that both brought laughs and tickled the mind. If not for the commentary on gender roles, this play was definitely worth watching for the humorous drag portrayal of French royal society as well as the kitschy yet impressive accordion accompaniment by Sarah Beitch.