Hub Theatre Company’s “The Bald Soprano” and “The Lesson” Hit the High Notes

‘The Bald Soprano’ and ‘The Lesson’ by Eugène Ionesco. Directed by Bryn Boice. Stage Management from Nona Ferney. Scenic Design by Justin Lahue. Sound Design by Mackenzie Adamick. Lighting Design by Narissa “Nars” Kelliher. Costume Design by Marissa Wolf. The Hub Theatre Company’s ‘The Bald Soprano’ and ‘The Lesson’ runs from February 20th – March 8th at the at 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116. 

By Charlotte Snow 

Absurdism simultaneously describes and stretches the bounds of impossibility. It’s no surprise the genre is facing a resurgence, given how the world has become increasingly complicated over the past few years. As a response to the wild and ever-changing times we find ourselves in, Hub Theatre Company’s latest theatrical offering is a double feature, The Bald Soprano and The Lesson by Eugène Ionesco. 

The French and Romanian playwright is the most vibrant and playful of the mid-twentieth century dramatic absurdists. Ionesco is just as concerned with how fascism warps humanity as his contemporaries, but his plays are less bleak than Genet’s, Sartre’s, or Beckett’s. His works include humans turning into rhinoceroses, cities of light beyond our reach, and an entire family named Jack. A throughline in Ionesco’s work is how the destruction of language and meaning can be as joyous as it is chaotic.  

He is perhaps best known for his one-acts, The Bald Soprano and The Lesson. The former centers on a dinner party between two married couples that goes hilariously askew, and the latter concerns a professor’s instruction to a young schoolgirl that goes disastrously awry. In the wrong hands, these plays can be frivolous and self-indulgent. Thankfully, Hub Theatre Company proves that Ionesco is safe in their hands.  

Director Bryn Boice easily fulfills the nearly impossible task of making the gibberish dialogue deeply personal and highly dramatic. The actors never seem lost, even if their characters are. That distinction is crucial and ensures a rip-roaring night at the theatre. Boice’s staging was river-like and fluid, swiftly bouncing between moments of high comedy, menace, romance, and exasperation.  

The Bald Soprano, from start to finish, is a wonderfully wacky ride. It revels in its own mayhem and slowly builds to a bacchanal of absurdity. There are a few moments of stagnation, but this production is incredibly well-paced and surprisingly sensual. Each member of the cast is in on the joke and thoroughly owns their character, resulting in something akin to a lost episode of I Love Lucy directed by posh demons. This alone was well worth the price of admission. Boice’s streamlined direction of The Bald Soprano is so singular and clear in vision that it made me wonder whether double-billing it with The Lesson was necessary.

While The Lesson contains one of the most chilling and provocative endings to any play, the lead-up was uneven. Powerhouse performances from Brooks Reeves as The Professor and Lily Ayotte as The Girl Pupil drove this production elegantly forward. But even with the duo’s dedicated portrayals and precise comedic timing, it couldn’t save this play from long stretches of energetic dips. The audience was emotionally “pushed and pulled”, ultimately leaving two remarkable actors stranded and abandoned. The ending nearly redeemed it, but The Lesson never quite captured the soaring notes that The Bald Soprano reached effortlessly.  

The design team is truly remarkable, fostering the madness beyond the character’s control. Through Mackenzie Adamick’s sound design, Marissa Wolf’s costumes, and Narissa “Nars” Kelliher’s lights, an entire world was created. It was nonsensical, threatening, and idiosyncratically flourishing outside of the set.  

The decision to build a 1950s TV frame around the proscenium was questionable, serving as an added wall that kept the audience from fully immersing in the absurdity. Besides the occasional sound cue imitating a sound-stage audience, there weren’t enough television-specific tropes used (or lampooned) to justify its existence. I also found myself longing for a touch of whimsy in the scenic design − some visual cue suggesting that the homeowners were not quite as logical or conventional as their curated exterior implied.

Despite a few hiccups, I can’t encourage seeing The Bald Soprano and The Lesson enough. It is so distinct, in both script and production, from most theater. The double bill serves as both a much-needed palette cleanser and a pertinent wake-up call. For tickets and information, go to: http://www.hubtheatreboston.org/