An old theater rule stipulates that if there’s a gun on stage, it must be fired before final fade-out. I’ll suggest a corollary demanding that if there’s an instrument on stage, it must be played before final fadeout. If there are several on stage, they must all be played.
That two-part corollary is honored in Wild Abandon, Leenya Rideout’s one-woman show, where a piano, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and a banjo (have I left anything out?) are already on Narelle Sissons’ set representing a pub in Long Island, a church in Washington state and other locations. Moreover, when Rideout arrives through the audience in a colorful (Ralph Lauren?) American-Indian-inspired jacket, she’s carrying a violin.
Possibly already known to spectators at the Irish Repertory for her appearances in Cabaret and War Horse, Rideout has talent to spare. She doesn’t spare much of it as she begins immediately to work the violin and then gets around to every one of the other instruments. Often, she sings, in a classically trained voice, several songs she’s written.
She also and quite determinedly tells the story of her performing career as well as dwelling on the relationship with her encouraging, controlling and often subtly deprecating—that’s to say, passive-aggressive—mother.
So yes, this is yet another play (perhaps more of an act) about breaking into, and surviving in, show business as combined with the story of a checkered daughter-mother relationship. Anyone’s reaction to it will rely on tolerance for hearing about someone else gab on about show-biz perils and how they have or haven’t been incorporated into an overall rewarding life.
Under Lisa Rothe’s direction, Rideout does sufficiently well at the challenge. There are, though, one or two instances—when discussing her mother’s shuffling between prudery and surprising sexual candor—where she risks dipping into the vulgar.
Not incidentally and along with the above double elements, Rideout goes into—not as deeply—her history with men. Recounting the ups and downs, she reports she’s currently working with an Irish-oriented band called Druid’s Revenge, where she’s the somewhat underappreciated girl singer as well as the bandleader’s somewhat underappreciated girlfriend. Oh, the number of times she’s caught him cozying up to the female fans.
She does mention that she was once in a production of Peter Pan and amusingly declares that traveling with the band is like once again joining Peter Pan and the lost boys. That trenchant observation has its impact, as do many of her insights on the life-long interactions she’s had with her mother.
Rideout has packed the Druid’s Revenge experiences into a song dubbed “Girl in the Band.” Others of her tunes are named “Don’t Let Her Fool Ya,” ”A Father’s Love,” and “The Right Track” And there’s a title tune.
Towards the end of the high-spirited turn, the lean, tense Rideout calls attention to artwork that’s been beaming from the set as well as stacked less visibly against the walls. It’s by her mother Lynn (Leenya means little Lynn). The canvasses are greatly influenced by Pablo Picasso, and a few of them aren’t bad. It isn’t clear if they’re for sale.
Wild Abandon opened September 24, 2018, at the Irish Repertory Theatre and runs to October 21. Tickets and information: irishrep.org
