Mauritius
It is rare, indeed, when rare stamps can hold your interest for two-and-a-half hours. But that is exactly the case in the intriguing play, Maritius, playing at the Pasadena Playhouse. With a cast of five actors who are tremendously superb in their roles, credit must also be given to the superlative direction by Jessica Kabzansky. And most of all, I attribute the success to playwright, Theresa Rebeck who has given us a quality play that is humorous and, at the same time, mysterious and absorbing.
Jackie nursed her mother for years. Before her death, she gave Jackie a stamp collection that was in the family. Left with hordes of bills, she decides to try to sell the collection and goes into a stamp shop where the owner Phillip (John Billingsley) refuses to look at the collection unless she pays him a huge sum of money “for his expertise.” As she is about to leave, a young man in the shop, Dennis (Chris L. McKenna), offers to take a look at the stamps. Not surprisingly, he tells her they are of no value. When Jackie leaves the shop, Dennis turns to Phillip to tell him the truth; the collection consists of the rarest stamps in the world, a one-penny and two-penny post office issues that were the first printed in Mauritius years ago when the tiny island belonged to the British Empire. Because they were printed with the words “post office” instead of “post paid,” they are invaluable. Dennis and Phillip invite a wealthy but raging and fanatic philatelist, Sterling (Ray Abruzzo), to join them in a scheme to offer Jackie enough money to lure her into selling the stamps for far less than their intrinsic value.
Jackie’s half-sister Mary (Monette Magrath), who had left home years ago and did not even make an effort to come back to see her dying mother, suddenly comes home claiming the collection belongs to her since it was accumulated by her grandfather. Obviously, Mary knows the value of the collection, but Jackie, not knowing, checks out the internet and is no longer oblivious to its value. From that point on, the balances of power between the three con artists, Jackie and Mary and all five characters, keeps the pace of the play in constant intrigue.
A wonderful set that begins in the shabby stamp shop, then circulates to a coffee shop, then again to the home of the half-sisters, was designed by Tom Buderwitz. The exceptionally realistic fight choreography is the work of Tim Weiske.
Mauritius continues playing Tuesdays through Sundays through April 26 at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South Molina Avenue, Pasadena. For tickets, call (626) 356-7529, online at www.pasadenaplayhouse.org, or by visiting the Pasadena Playhouse Box Office, open from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. daily excluding holidays. Highly recommended.
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Theater: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South Molina Avenue, Pasadena.
Web Site: http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/
Tickets: (626) 356-7529
Dates: through April 26, 2009
