WEBSTER’S bitch is a play on words. I mean that quite literally. The set was a playground for wordplay, and every writer and wordsmith in attendance had a field day with the conversations that the cast tossed around the well-constructed office setting. The story juggled themes such as tradition versus modernity, gender versus humanity, professional versus impassioned, and evolution versus extinction in a metaphoric sense. Playwright Jacqueline Bircher stirs the proverbial pot with valid arguments on each side of the discussion of “words mean things” with the acknowledgment of just how alive written and spoken language is as well as how spoken language, in all of its unrefined nuances, push the evolution of the traditions of the written word.
The themes came alive with the layers surrounding Joyce and Frank, the higher-ups, who represented tradition, age, and refinement. Nick and Gwen, who represented youth and change, still taking their places as opposites in the build-up of the plot, made for a rounded conversation in each direction.
There is no better setting for a day in the life of a lexicographer than a bland office space that denotes the seriousness of the task. There is also no better way to break up the monotony of office work and deadlines than with the splash of color that is Ellie.
Ellie was the voice we all have in our heads; the desire for freedom when what we need to maintain a sense of stability is for our professionalism to beat away the imposter syndrome. The dynamic between the visiting Ellie and her sister, Gwen, play on the very real spar we all have with our work-life balance. Ellie represented the passion in the direction of living life. Gwen voiced a similar passion but in the direction of upward mobility. The two created a spectrum on which the audience decided how professional we’ve been in our own careers— even how much we would be willing to put up with if we ever found ourselves in the characters’ shoes.
When all was said and done, what we found was that there is a place for all of the above.
Playhouse on Park transformed their space into a beautiful tribute to Jacqueline Bircher’s brilliance. It enveloped theatergoers in a maze of word-related decor, from a paper-laden photo wall to a nostalgia-triggering display of scrabble paraphernalia.
See it at Playhouse on Park through June 18th. For tickets call 860-523-5900 x10 or visit www.PlayhouseOnPark.org.
