Feminists especially will be intrigued by the repressive society that is lightly reflected in Phyl, Cicely Hamilton’s 1913 social comedy about a middle-class British woman’s few options in life other than matrimony. Featuring a free-spirited heroine who enjoys a fling, Phyl offers considerable interest – and pleasure – to theatergoers who appreciate the chance to catch worthy plays from early decades of the 20th century. That is the prime mission, of course, for Mint Theater Company, now going into its 35th season, whose able production of Phyl opened Thursday at Theatre Row and represents the play’s American premiere.
Hamilton’s intimate two-act story begins one evening in the gloomy schoolroom of an English country house. Phyllis (Lily Ganser), a discontented governess in her twenties, is not coping so well with Olive (Charlotte Van Ledtje) and Betty (Tessa Bilmes), the bratty daughters of grand Mrs. Ponsonby (Katie Firth). Coming upstairs after dinner is carefree Jack (Anthony Michael Martinez), a weekend guest and wealthy bachelor. Jack charms the little monsters off to bed before sharing an amiable chat with Phyl, obviously unhappy with her limited, isolated existence. “I want more,” she asserts. “And I can’t have it!”
A confrontation erupts with Mrs. Ponsonby, angered by the eligible Jack’s obvious interest in Phyl over her debutante eldest Mabel (Livvy Marcus). Dismissed, the short-tempered Phyl first feels relief and then turns anxious over her bleak future, saying “One gets oh so deadly tired of trying to make the best of things – when there isn’t a best, only a worst – and you hate your life.” Encouraged by Phyl’s earlier declaration, “I often feel as if I could go to the devil if I only knew the way,” the affable Jack nicely proposes a pleasure trip to Europe. Does the erstwhile governess risk her reputation and go with him? The second act unfolds a few weeks later in a swank hotel suite on the French Riviera. The obnoxious Ponsonby clan pops up later.
A neat pre-Great War meld of pleasant romance and indirect social comment, Phyl was composed by a prominent suffragette, journalist, novelist, playwright, and activist who campaigned for female self-determination, as witnessed by its heroine’s actions. As customary, thankfully, Mint Theatre provides viewers with an actual program complete with a detailed biography of author Cicely Hamilton, including notes on the play’s English production history. (Fun fact I learned was Hamilton, a working actress for some years, appeared in the original company of Shaw’s satirical comedy Fanny’s First Play.)
Britt Berke, the director, gives Phyl a well-paced, agreeably performed production. Initially an anxious figure in unbecoming black and a tight hairdo as the heroine, the elfin-faced Ganser visibly relaxes and brightens as Phyl’s repressed spirit takes wing. Energizing the show with his gleaming presence as Jack, Martinez lends the careless playboy a casually rumpled, hands-in-pockets ease that carries him through every awkward situation. Long a Mint favorite, Firth sharply portrays snooty Mrs. Ponsonby, pronouncing nasty inferences with a prim smile. The Mlles Bilmes and Van Ledtje are properly awful as the kids. Among others in the 10-member company, Jennifer Blood quietly offers a warmhearted portrayal of Phyl’s older sister whose existence as an office drudge is a life the protagonist does not wish to lead.
Some of the period costumes delivered by Alicia J. Austin could be better tailored and finished. Brittany Vasta, the scenic designer, presents an oppressive dark-paneled classroom that contrasts later with the second act’s airy, cream and gilt surroundings of an oceanside Riviera suite. Rippling piano music and subtle ambient sounds are supplied by Jane Shaw. Over the years, Mint Theater has produced vintage works by authors such as Rachel Crothers, Susan Glaspell, Dawn Powell, Elizabeth Baker and Teresa Deevy, as well as Hamilton, whose 1906 comedy about a shopgirl, Diana of Dobson’s, was staged by the company in 2001. Let’s look forward in future seasons to the Mint’s rediscovery of more works by yesteryear playwrights such as Zoe Akins, Catherine Chisholm Cushing, and Clare Kummer.
Phyl opened October 22, 2026, at Theatre Row and runs through November 7. Tickets and information: minttheater.org
