“This Side of Neverland” continues through Sunday at the Pearl Theater, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton; (212) 563-9261,
pearltheatre .org.
Theater Review: ‘This Side of Neverland,’ at Pearl Theater
How refreshing it is to be reminded of this feminist battle cry not by a straight-out-of-central-casting cliché but by an early-20th-century nobleman whom we usually associate with boyish fantasies. I’m referring, of course, to J. M. Barrie, the prolific Scottish novelist and playwright best known as the creator of Peter Pan. Barrie’s impressive oeuvre has been largely overshadowed by the success of his boy hero, but happily the Pearl Theater Company has chosen to revive a pair of his lesser-known, adult-oriented one-acts from 1914 in its latest production, “This Side of Neverland.” These two droll delicacies involve resourceful women with surprise identities. And both tuck proto-feminist messages into gently barbed social commentary — about aristocratic fat cats, class anxiety and the entertainment industry — that still holds uncomfortably true today. The first play, “Rosalind,” features a dowdy middle-aged woman (Rachel Botchan) cheerfully enjoying her dowdiness and middle age in a cozy cottage by the sea, having apparently shucked her corset and shorn her vanity long ago. Her layabout lifestyle is interrupted when an Eton-educated young man (Sean McNall) requests shelter from a rainstorm. Soon after being admitted, he spots a photo of his hostess’s daughter, who happens to be the famous actress he hopes to marry. The boyish Mr. McNall is charming as the suitor, and even better as an intermittent narrator of sorts. He is listed in the program as both supporting characters and as Barrie himself, and in each one-act he frequently steps aside to declaim the playwright’s cheeky stage directions and character descriptions. Ms. Botchan is equally lovely, and liberated, in “The Twelve Pound Look,” a comedy of manners in which she portrays a typist sent by her employer to prepare thank-you notes for a man about to be knighted. At curtain, the knight-to-be (Bradford Cover, as a perfectly polished oaf) is practicing the prancing, kneeling and slobbery hand-kissing he expects to partake in during his ceremony. He asks his wife to familiarize the arriving typist with her prestigious assignment. “He is too modest to boast about himself, and prefers to keep a wife in the house for that purpose,” offers a parenthetical in the script, voiced by Mr. McNall as Barrie. As luck would have it, the typist soon realizes she had actually left that boorish, self-satisfied gentleman more than a decade earlier. He hopes to rub her nose in his subsequent successes — including his gorgeous second wife (Vaishnavi Sharma) — only to find himself the bicycle to her fish. Pristinely directed by J. R. Sullivan, both plays seem so good-natured that you hardly notice you yourself might be the object of dissection. Preshow and entr’acte piano-playing of period tunes like “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” whose misty-eyed lyrics are found inside the program, allow audience members to sing along. Don’t let the musical nostalgia and starchy dressing gowns fool you, though; as Mr. Sullivan makes clear, Barrie’s words are disturbingly current. This Side of Neverland Two one-act plays by J. M. Barrie; directed by J. R. Sullivan; sets by Gary Levinson; costumes by Elise M. VanderKley; lighting by Stephen Petrilli; sound by Lindsay Jones; production stage manager, Dominic Cuskern; dramaturge and assistant director, Kate Farrington; production manager, Mr. Levinson; voice and text direction, Dudley Knight; associate scenic director, Katherine Fry. Presented by the Pearl Theater Company, Mr. Sullivan, artistic director; David Roberts, managing director. At the Pearl Theater, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton; (212) 563-9261, pearltheatre.org. Through Sunday. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. “Rosalind” WITH: Sean McNall (Charles/J. M. Barrie), Carol Schultz (Pianist/Dame Quickly) and Rachel Botchan (Mrs. Page). “The Twelve Pound Look” WITH: Sean McNall (J. M. Barrie/Tombes), Vaishnavi Sharma (Lady Sims), Bradford Cover (Sir Harry) and Rachel Botchan (Kate).