Be very careful what you wish for, 'Wishers'

"It's funny, but not ha-ha funny." For those who saw the last play by Julia Kots, TC '01, Tea for Two, don't expect a repeat performance of massacred dolls and flying food. Wishers, performing in the Whitney Humanities Center, transcends traditional comedy and somehow manages to combine Victorian England, God, musical theater, and rubber chickens without leaving the audience on the floor with lau-ghter. Not that Wishers isn't funny—there are moments when even the stage crew can't suppress chuckles—but it's laughter at a price, making for great black comedy.

KATIE ALDRICH/YH When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference what freakish sexual fantasies you have...

As the title suggests, this is a story about wishing. Complete with a gender-bended genie-type known only as the Man in the Funny Hat (played seductively by Emelie Gevalt, SY '03), the two main characters, Lizette (Avni Bhatia, TC '04) and Thomas (Haile Owusu, BR '01), find their desires fulfilled in ways they never consciously considered. The results include a parade of lascivious men, a sadomasochistic school mistress, and an amiable singing rapist, but these are not oddities in the world that Kots has conjured up. Sex and violence are topics of discussion, not devices used to elicit emotion; though you won't be shocked, when you're done laughing you'll be wondering why not.

What's most amazing about Wishers is that despite the absurdities of the script, the actors are still somehow capable of making this all seem very normal. It's hard to believe that the majority of them have never acted at Yale before. The performance of every single member of this cast is precise and determined, though a few scenes could use more energy and a little less inhibition. Especially notable is the performance of Bhatia, who portrays Lizette as concurrently innocent, cold, and self-confident. Her character is nicely juxtaposed with that of Owusu, whose melodic voice and heartfelt deliveries make Thomas the most sympathetic character of all.

But Bhatia and Owusu do not by any means carry the show alone. Guinevere (Elizabeth Meriwether, TC '04) is a perfect hysteric, wide-eyed and spaced-out, while the singing rapist (Joel Maguen, SM '02) proficiently demonstrates that fear and laughter are not mutually exclusive. Raphael Soifer, TC '04, is strangely convincing in the role of a glib but philosophical James, and he provides an effective contrast to Thomas's sincerity.

It is this unending conjugation of disparate elements that makes this play such a pleasure to watch. The plot line is weird enough—an innocent girl gets to be a prostitute and a man's wife gets raped. But then every so often the characters burst into song—not scary, Brechtian song, but the kinds of tunes you find in a 1950's musical. The original music, written by Kyle Jarrow, SM '01, is set against familiar tunes like Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Orff's Camina Burana that underscore certain scenes, creating a disjointed and decisively comic effect. Oddly enough, it works. Kots knows when kitsch is funny, and uses it in all the right quantities.

Theater

Wishers By Julia Kots Directed by Julia Kots Fri., Oct. 27 and Sat., Oct. 28, 7 and 10 p.m. Whitney Humanities Center $2, call 6-1160 for reservations

The world that Kots has created for us is full of contradictions. Though the setting is supposedly England, a plethora of unidentifiable and botched accents abound. We never really know where we are, and this is as it should be. The set, designed by Annis Whitlow, MC '01, and Colin Spoelman, MC '01, is completely white, which not only allows for fluid transitions of place but also prevents us from ever falling into the trap of realism. We are constantly aware that we are watching a play, an experiment instigated by the characters and perpetuated by the lithe and mischievous Man in the Funny Hat. The minute we feel we can relate to what is happening on stage, we are interrupted by some bizarre and often grotesque moment, like the smearing of paint over Lizette's face, a sudden death, or the entrance of a strapping Scottish lad (with bagpipes!). What happens in this world is fascinating to watch—just close enough to our own experience, but never real.

As always, Kots, keeps us guessing. She can't really remember why she wrote the script, or what influenced her (other than Mamet, Well-man, and Freud) and when asked what the play's about, she replies that it's about "fear." Although I'm not sure I understand this interpretation, Kots does challenge viewers to consider their own subconscious desires, the things they think they want. Wishers is funny because people are funny, and this makes for a production that is both poignant and amusing.

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