The Maids
By Joseph Cervelli
Director Kip Williams gave us the spectacular one person "The Picture of Dorian Gray" last year starring a fiery Sarah Snook with camera work appearing as projections on a number of screens. While not totally successful with his latest Jean Genet's classic "The Maids" playing a limited engagement at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn despite three deliciously feral performances (Yerin Ha, Phia Saban and Lydia Wilson), there is enough here to enjoy. A big issue is the less than successful last scene which I will get to shortly. Williams also has written the new version.
As you enter there is a transparent curtain with a luscious array of various colorful flowers in a luxurious bedroom. It looks like you walked into an upscale florist. Saban portraying one of the two maids is preening around the bedroom taking photos with rock music playing. She sits at the dressing table exploring what products her employer Madame (extravagantly played by Ha) uses. In comes Claire (Wilson) whom you first believe may indeed be Madame.You soon realize that they are role playing and Madame is not yet home. Claire scorchingly lays into Solange by insulting her and criticizing all of her work. Going to her mirrored door closet she tries on the array of clothing and while looking into her phone her gargantuan facial images appear on the suddenly huge mirrors. Because Claire and Solange (they are sisters) are deliberately plain looking without any makeup they are both with what looks like the help of AI transformed into over made up faces with lips that looks like they have been treated daily with botox. Their eyes and especially lips are enlarged and they almost become grotesque. What video designer Zack Hein has done here is quite amazing in an almost frightening Tik Tok gone mad.
After about 20 minutes the curtain opens and reality sets in when you realize that Claire (Wilson is brutishly remarkable) as thought is not Madame and the "game" is over . What is amusing is that a number of her put downs to Solange are quite reminiscent of Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada." This is slightly carried over when Madame comes in with her insulting quips.
Ha whom you discover is an influencer arrives into the room like a freight train is both overbearing and bizarrely funny with her nastiness and almost crazed behavior. You are not quite sure if she is on drugs of some kind. Wildly moving from one area of the room to the other speaking a few times in non-sequiturs she discovers that Solange and Claire have inadvertently moved objects during their recent role-play. Both maids are experienced enough from previous acting out their roles of maid and Madame to quickly cover up their faux pas.
You find out that Madame's criminal boyfriend was reported to the authorities by Claire and it is the goal of both maids to murder their employer when he is arrested but things don't turn out exactly as they have planned. What is amusing is that the boyfriend who never appears on stage is shown in projections and unlike Solange and Claire looking almost ghoulish in an abundance of makeup and bloated faces, he is extremely handsome looking like a Abercrombie & Fitch model.
It is the last 20 or so minutes that things go downhill. Claire and Solange poison Madame's tea but every time she is about to drink it she complains it is too cold. This occurs even they warm it up. Then she leaves to meet her boyfriend who was let out of jail. This is all fine except when things go haywire as Solange has Claire drinking the tea. Was this all in her mind? Did Solange really drink the tea? What adds to the confusion is that there is steady music (low but still distracting) playing so hard to decipher the dialogue.
Still, despite Williams' sometimes rampant direction that would be better if toned down the three actors are remarkably good and despite your attempt not laughing at their aberrant humor you just cannot help yourself.
PHOTOS: JULIANA CERVANTES
Tickets are available at St Ann's Warehouse 45 Water Street. The limited engagement ends June 14.
