The real risk the Ottawa Little Theatre has taken by staging Mary Orr's The Widsom of Eve, which opened Monday night, goes beyond live performance. The greatest risk is that too many in the audience will have seen Joseph L. Mankiewicz's classic 1950 film version of the story, All About Eve which starred Bette Davis and Anne Bancroft, and which won a half-dozen Oscars, and will use it as the yardstick by which to judge the play.
Orr's story is about betrayal and fame. Margo Crane is an established Broadway star, befriended by an adoring fan, Eve Harrington. With crocodile tears and charming guile, Harrington ingratiates and insinuates herself into Crane's world, becoming first her assistant, then her understudy and, finally, her Brutus.
Directed by Lorraine St. Laurent, Monday's performance was a tug-of-war between forces that soared and those that kept the play from ever really getting off the ground.
The former was led by Robin Guy, whose portrayal of Eve was first-rate throughout, rivalling the performance she gave two seasons ago in OLT's The Miracle Worker. As Eve, she alternated perfectly between chaste innocence and serpentine deception as Eve claws her way to the top.
Guy's wonderful performance was well supported by Heather-Jane Robertson, who played the role of Karen Roberts, the wife of playwright Lloyd Roberts, and the person who first introduces Eve and Crane.
Also lending masterful touches to the show were Don Torney and David Magladry, in charge of the set and lighting, respectively. The play takes place in a handful of locations, and Torney successfully squeezed them all into one tight, efficient set, while Magladry's lighting created effective moods throughout the show.
But the efforts of these four couldn't entirely slip the knots that kept the play down. Cheryl Zimmer's portrayal of Margo Crane was brash and overdone, and didn't draw the empathy necessary for the audience to dislike Eve. Quite the opposite was true, in fact: the occasional glimpses into Crane's human frailties and insecurities were so unconvincing they made it too easy to cheer on the conniving Eve.
The play also failed to create much of a bond between the two protagonists in the first place, making Eve's eventual betrayal seem almost trivial and everyday.
George Stonyk's Lloyd ultimately didn't help things, either. In what was perhaps the play's strongest supporting role, Stonyk repeatedly took the reins firmly for a whil, only to fall over his lines or stumble on the delivery.
The Wisdom of Eve runs until Jan. 25 at the Ottawa Little Theatre, 400 King Edward Ave. Tickets are $15 and are available at the box office. For information call 233-8948.