Love in a tub at Hunter
Saturday night I went to the production of Love in a Tub at the Loewe theater. There was a change of scenery, so I was rather taken by this change but it has no effect on the production. The play begins with a man dressed in clothing of the baroque age introducing the plot and the ringing of his cell phone (yes, I was quite perplexed myself) prompted him to leave the stage. This man, known as Colonel Bruce prompted me to wonder if this production would lampoon another, lesser known play. As I watched the play, I knew that this was an original production, though it came close to it with its comedic dialogue and plot. Love in a tub is set in the 80s and everything from the wardrobe to the music reflects the social attitudes of the time. In other words, the plot centers around the fame and power that rock bands brought with them. In addition, sex also seemed to be a central motif of the rockstar’s life. I gathered this from the innumerable, often inappropriate sexual innuendoes embedded in the dialogue. The central plot was convoluted, absurdly hilarious and submerged in subtlety. This was due to the numerous subplots. However, the main plot in question, is about this fictitious yet famous rock band known as the Fyddlers and their endeavors to gain fame and wealth. The lead musician and protagonist, Sir Frederick, takes advantage of his fans to become as rich as possible all the while having a good time. This leads him to the Bevill Family, a large and rich family. Frederick exploits the grandmother, otherwise known as “the widow” of all her money by falsely promising her his fidelity. The widow eventually sees through his scheme and rejects him. At this pivotal point in the play, Frederick has an epiphany and realizes that the widow is his true love and seeks her love once again. By the end of the play, Frederick is successful in winning her love. In addition, several, if not all, of the supporting characters find true love as well such as the budding romances of Palmer the keyboardist and Wheedle, who plays the cowbell (in the end, Wheedle reveals that she is a woman), the roadie Dufoy (who was my favorite character) and the tomboyish Betty Bevill and much more. Thus, what begins as a mad tale of zany antics ends as a romantic fairy tale. As mentioned before, there are several subplots, such as Wheedle and Palmer’s over elaborate plans to scam Sir Nicholas, the president of the Fyddler’s fan club, of his money (which include alcohol, a deck of Uno cards, a musical contest between Wheedle and the drum player, Chris Gizzi and Grace, who is constantly referred to as the “wench” by the Fyddlers) or the Bevill siblings’ (Graciana, Leticia and Lovis Bevill) conquest to win over Colonel Bruce’s love. Bruce seemingly chooses Leticia in the end. All of these interconnecting subplots are comic in their own way, especially Dufoy’s misfortunes. The music of rock and roll was a recurring theme in the play. However, it contrasts strongly from the way rock and roll was used in Spring’s Awakening. Whereas rock and roll highlighted the theme of rebellion in Spring’s Awakening, the music here seems to explicitly suggest a conquest of romance and becomes synonymous with love. However, I felt that the number of songs was overwhelming and, as a result, superfluous. I also felt as though the producer didn’t hold back in all of the facets of this production. There were instances of lewd and profane dialogue and then there was the case where Bruce pulled of his pants, revealing his boxers, then hurled them offstage. I was actually startled at the close proximity of the pants’ projectile path since they landed right next to me. The end itself was probably designed to include the audience since the cast pulled members of the audience to join them in the final dance. Although a majority of the voices were convincing and overdone, some of the voices seemed “fake” and forced upon, such as Jenny or Betty’s voice. As for the character themselves, you feel somewhat emotionally attached to them. For instance, you can’t help but feel bad for the comically tragic Dufoy and his misfortune. You also can’t help but forgive Frederick. In the beginning he has a carefree and callous nature, even using his fans for his personal interests. In the end, however, he deeply cares for the Widow and vows his fidelity as an ultimate act of love and redemption. Overall, the stark absurdity and hilarity makes this production a form of entertainment. I would recommend this production as it is worth the two hours as it will keep you awake and wishing for more, like a good novel. Hopefully it will move beyond the Loewe theater.