Linda

By Joseph Cervelli

As brilliantly portrayed by Janie Dee in the starring role, Penelope Skinner’s powerfully observant British play “Linda” presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club at City Center is among the best of the season, thus far. 

Linda seems to have it all. A fifty five year old very attractive woman who can still fit into her dress from years ago with a great high powered job in marketing, a good marriage and two very bright young girls. Then everything comes crashing down. Is any of this Linda’s fault or is being in a man’s world both professionally and personally something that has cause her fall? 

Linda comes onto the stage in full throttle promoting a new anti-aging cream from Swan the company she works for. While so many companies are pushing such creams for younger women,she wants to gear it for the older woman 50’s and beyond. Hey, there are more women out there than “Helen Mirren” as she humorously puts it. 

Her boss, Dave (John C. Vennema) who it is intimated briefly has made some sexual overtures towards Linda does not feel the same way about her campaign for this product. He wants it pushed to the younger set and hires twenty five year old Amy (Molly Griggs) to handle the campaign. Young must mean better, right? The deceptive Amy seems heaps praise upon Linda,  but it is not too long before you know how much she deigns to undermine this older woman. 

Work is far from Linda’s only problem. She has a luxurious house (perfect turntable design by Walt Spangler) which she likes to say on occasion that she herself bought. Her husband, Neil (a fine Donald Sage Mackay) is a teacher managing a rock band and she discovers has been having an affair with the much younger lead singer Stevie (Meghann Fahy). Her oldest daughter Alice (Jennifer Ikeda) goes through the days not leaving the house and always wearing a skunk pajama onesie. We find out that some students at her university posted sexual photos of her when Alice was with her ex. Embarrassed she feels only staying at home is her safe haven. Linda seems to have lost patience with her daughter and decides to eventually have her fill in as an intern at her company. Why she still is wearing that onesie under her clothes at work may not make sense until it is revealed which is quite distressing. Linda’s other younger daughter, Bridget (Molly Ranson) is auditioning for a school acting part and wants to portray one of Shakespeare's male characters.

There is a great deal going on in this play but what makes it so accomplished a work is that everything makes complete sense and blends in perfectly. Linda may feel that she is being squeezed by a steel glove from all aspects of her life, but we begin to see aspects about her that are disheartening. While it is easy to understand her plight at work being circumvented by a younger less experienced woman, there are things that occurred with her family that are upsetting.  Alice believes that her mother feels if she never posed for such revealing photos they would never have been posted. Soon Linda discovers this can happen to any woman.  While she indeed worked hard for all the material things in her life her constant reminder to her husband about “her house” becomes demeaning to him. 

The performances are all beautifully self assured and blend together succinctly. Besides Dee who is piercingly sharp in her portrayal, I especially liked the comic edged  and heartbreaking performance by Ikeda 

One always has the hope of being totally drawn into a new play and “Linda” easily captures that. 

Tickets are available at the Manhattan Theater Club at City Center 131 West 55th Street or by calling 212.581.1212. As of this date the limited engagement ends April 2. 

PHOTO: RICHARD TERMINE