By Ernest Kearney — Remove the focus of the hit series Mad Men away from the masculine realm of Madison Avenue, fix it onto the bleak domestic field of their feminine “better halves,” insert inspired songs, furnish superb choreography and Voila!: You’d have Housewife ’52.
In recreating— for those of us who suffered through the stagnation of the Eisenhower Era— and displaying it to others who were spared it, by showing how far we have progressed, John Wuchte and his partner Michael Teoli have given us all a reason to celebrate.
At the start of this show four women emerge from beneath burial mounds of laundry, a fitting image of their “domestic bliss.” All neighbors in a suburban cul-de-sac, we are told by one that cul-de-sac is French for “dead end.”
We are witness to the struggles of these women as they try to be more than reflections of their husband’s needs, victims of their husband’s deceptions, and prisoners of the limitation society forces them to abide by.
A romantic ballad with a press shirt, a paean to the joys of Tupperware all convey a time when living room furniture in America was encased in plastic and Americans might have well been too.
The standout performances by all involved – Dagney Kerr, Olivia Echegaray, Danika Masi, Quincey Lou Huerter, Charlie Manoukian, Alexander Aguirre and Daniel Amerman, enhanced by Joyce Hutter’s puppet designs and a superlative tribal-like choreography, all contribute to a show that is both inspired and evoking.
Wuchte, Teoli and crew deserve —
a PLATINUM MEDAL
for their achievement – and then some!
***
Housewife ’52
plays during Hollywood Fringe Festival 2022
VENUE:
The Broadwater (Main Stage)
1076 Lillian Way
SCHEDULE:
Friday June 10 2022, 9:30 PM
Sunday June 12 2022, 3:30 PM
Wednesday June 15 2022, 6:30 PM
Friday June 17 2022, 10:30 PM
Wednesday June 22 2022, 9:30 PM
Saturday June 25 2022, 4:30 PM
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For Additional Information:
Learn More at kickboomtheater.com
