Wouldn't it be lovely if homophobia were a thing of the past and a revival of Robert Anderson's Tea and Sympathy could be mounted as a curious snapshot of an earlier age? Sadly, certain attitudes about what constitutes "manly" (read: heterosexual) behavior persist, making Anderson's tale of life in a New Hampshire boys' boarding school still relevant. In director Jonathan Silverstein's uneven new production of this 1953 play, theatregoers will recognize its continued pertinence even if they don't always feel its sting as sharply as might be hoped.
Life in the bucolic school gets unpleasant for sensitive outsider Tom (played with gentle nuance by Dan McCabe) when he's seen skinny-dipping with a teacher (fine work from Mark Setlock in one frantic scene) whom everyone believes to be gay. As Tom is not athletic and is prone to staying in his room playing folk music, guilt by association follows, first from his peers and the headmaster of his dorm, Bill (played with ponderous intensity by Craig Mathers), and later from Tom's absent father (whom Dan Cordle plays tentatively, seemingly afraid to embrace the character's bigotry).
Only Bill's wife, Laura, comes to Tom's defense and tries to rescue him from his self-destructive attempts to prove his manliness. Played by Heidi Armbruster with a keen mixture of worldliness, simplicity, and sadness, Laura doles out more than the usual "tea and sympathy" that headmasters' wives are expected to give the students. In doing so, she comes to understand some of the fault lines in her own marriage.
Scenes between Armbruster and McCabe crackle, as do scenes involving their characters and Tom's roommate (Brandon Espinoza in a nearly show-stealing performance). Overall, though, Silverstein's production, staged on Beowulf Boritt and Jo Winiarski's ill-conceived set, often feels listless, which is unfortunate for a play that should still speak to our times.
Presented by Keen Company
at the Clurman Theater, 410 W. 42nd St., NYC.
March 15-April 14. Tue., 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. (Additional performance Sat., April 14, 2 p.m.)
(212) 279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com.
Casting by Kelly Gillespie, McCorkle Casting.