A lukewarm attempt at audaciousness with a splash of comedy.
Madwomen of the West promises “hilarity, outrageous opinions and unexpected wisdom” however after leaving Riverside Studios I wonder where in the show’s 90 minute runtime these promises are hiding.
This new comedy by Sandra Tsing Loh invites us to Claudia’s (Melanie Mayron) surprise birthday brunch hosted and attended by her three longest and oldest friends. The play allows us a peak into each character’s life and current crises to unveil how everything isn’t always as glamorous as it seems.
The staging is quite simple – a modern lounge area with a drinks trolley – as everything else is mimed or narrated to the audience. The breaking of the fourth wall to announce stage blackouts (with the lights very much still on) adds to the comedic value of the play especially when celebrity friend Zoey (Marilu Henner) shows up and her blackout announcements to the imaginary lighting crew are the only ones that are successful, to the other friends dismay.
Although the play has very American-centric jokes and plot points the script is slightly adjusted to a London audience – sometimes hitting the mark and other times missing it entirely. The script feels a bit long-winded and the first act drags until the “scandalous” topic of Claudia’s son being trans is brought up just before interval.
As mentioned, “outrageous opinions” is what we are warned to expect from Madwomen of the West and yet there was not one opinion or discourse shared that I am not already bored of hearing. The “sensitivity” of Millennials and Gen Z? Tired. The hassle of understanding and respecting people’s pronouns? Tired. Nothing is outrageous about these opinions, just repetitively problematic and dull. I appreciate the attempt at these topics, but the degree of disagreement amongst the friends is not strong enough to make the debate interesting.
Where the play most evidently falls flat is with its ensemble. Individually each actor has their own bragging rights in terms of performance (in particular the spicy monologue delivered by Marilu Henner) but between each actor the chemistry is few and far between. This affects the entire flow of the play and presumably is why it feels quite lengthy.
Overall, I was surprisingly disappointed as I expected much more due to the show’s success in Los Angeles and New York. Perhaps, I’m not the target audience which is why it’s not particularly my cup of tea or perhaps Madwomen of the West truly reads better in the West.
The show was not a “hit” at all in New York. That’s just marketing talk. Most critics disliked the show in NYC. It did well in LA because the cast are all TV actors and familiar stereotypes.