The Mistress Cycle

Description
Why does this remount of Apple Tree's 2007 production leave me flat? Writers Beth Blatt and Jenny Giering attempt a more profound connection among their characters than really exists—it's tough to draw a line of equivalence, whether moral or emotional, from a barely pubescent Chinese concubine to a modern-day New York professional contemplating an affair. The venue is another problem. Placing the audience on the Auditorium stage means all of the sound is sucked up into the fly loft; the work of five immensely capable actors with gorgeous voices and their able musical director is deadened.—KV