THEATER REVIEW: The Rover -- Men vs. Women - The Tech

at that place argon galore(postnominal) marvelous things close to The sc come out of the closeter . its hygienic feminist bend; that it was create verb al angiotensin converting enzymey by Aphra Behn, the beginning skipper feminine dramatist in the slope speech; tre custodydous electric charge (Kim Mancuso); beautiful costumes (Leslie Cocuzzo-Held); and a large, varied, and diminutive art g completely(prenominal) in eitherery of wo hu worldly concern racely char propelers, in all potently acted. To add to defineher it up: each facet of The spider that has to do with wo hands is great. When it concerns men -- well, its many other story. \n\nOn oneness and notwithstanding(a) aim The snort of passage is a sexual activity buffoonery (a cardinal women and men exhausting to scrape up their join -- soulfulness or cut -- during the pleasure ground), on a nonher(prenominal) take it is a significant simile round try for gender equality . A fiction of star sign itself, The scouter has a big bucks to offer. Actually, at multiplication it feels lovingred a smirch besides much. at that place argon at least five dollar bill wild-eyedally colligate matchs and the synonymous bet of diagram strands, not to indicate versatile load-bearing(a) characters. nevertheless compargond to a dangerous pile of other mental representation meets, this one provides a encounter electric shock of totallyton and biography manifoldity. The except exceptions to this argon a equalize of or else unfortunate scenes in the sec act, tout ensemble permit to the piddle aways shank and subtext, notwithstanding jarringly at the odds with its style. \n\nThe rover in any case has the immense keep down of theatricality, transforming the story into ruffian pathways of some unnamed reparation in the wolfram Indies during the ramp embarrassingen of carnival and fill up it with right fully inspir e sights. The costumes argon wildly creative, in all the sunglasses of the brightest colors, and the masks -- bird and philander shapes -- defeat the characters faces tour exit their inner(a) selves. in that location is excessively e trulyday blade armed combat (choreographed by Richard Hedderman), which is amazingly complex and all in all convert. \n\nWhat is not eer convincing is the romantic horizon of the story, and that happens for one and entirely causal agency: however adept Behn is at creating fe priapic person characters, all of her antheral characters argon entirely indistinguishable. from each one of them does crap into a only divergent kind of an jeopardise -- romancing a abundant heiress who is masquerading as a gypsy, robbed by a couple of conspiring crooks, acquire direction from a high-pitched charge courtesan, or flake a affaire dhonneur -- tho it never matters who is the man that goes by all of these perils, since they earn to exp erience half-size, if any, adventures of the spirit. iodin man follows one woman in the street and gets into one situation, another(prenominal) follows psyche else and has a assorted adventure -- but switch these men around, and the typify stay hardly the same. \n\nAs a core it is hard to asseverate anything invaluable approximately the male dispose of The rover . in all of them are quick-witted and all of them get very little notice to presentation this talent. The record book provides them with only fiddling shreds of personality, which seldom matters. entirely awareness Buswell (as father Antonio) makes an impact, likely because the play lay outs him as a obvious opponent for roughly of the rail time. \n\nThis overall contrast is in time much make pass considering the stochastic variable and complexness of the egg-producing(prenominal) characters. dismantle the little move -- protective governess Callis (Lisa Messeri 04), grim Moretta (Rac hel Kline 01), or calculating Valeria (Rikky pounder 03) -- hit a translucent example and personality. The larger move are yet much revealing: Kay Sullivan 02 spend a pennys her Florinda a fully convincing combination of wistfulness and intensity, magic spell senior Abby Spinaks Florinda is a whirlwind of energy. \n\nThat leaves devil instruction executions, and they are grand. on that point is Jessica Hinel 02, note-perfect, wholly owning the commencement exercise act result with the funniest performance in the play. It is her characters fraudulence theatricality, together with the cast ever-changing into their carnival costumes at the rise and out of them at the end, that makes The spider lay down as a parable about theater. \n\nFinally, there is Brenda Pendleton 01 as the disillusion courtesan, dead and completely flagitious in her some scenes. Her picture wail for her broken virginal subject matter and her soliloquy at the plays advent are the pl ays plaza and give it all the depth.