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nytheatre.com review by Laura Rohrman
So strong is the character of Edna St. Vincent Millay in Jennifer Gibbs's new one-woman show Edna St. Vincent Millay Speaks To The Committee on Immortality that I found myself entertained, enlightened, and consumed, despite the fact that the script misses some things fundamental to playwriting: a logical narrative question and a plot.As Gibbs, as Millay, arrives on the stage, we are well aware that we have entered a private boudoir—well stocked with booze and morphine—for a conversation peppered with Millay’s real poetry. Discussion topics include the various aspects of Edna’s life: her loves, her mother, her husband, her times in Paris, even the drug itself. Gibbs, nearly slurring, ends each winding monologue by stating simply: “I’ve had so much, but I want more.” Then she grabs her needle and shoots up. Apparently, the quest for immortality is best expressed through a drug-induced high. Perhaps it’s true but it’s not very much fun to watch.In reality, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s life sounds far more interesting and colorful than Gibbs’s intoxicated monologues show. Born in 1892, Millay became a celebrated poet by the age of 20 and soon after the first female ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. She was an integral part the radical and avant-garde circles of New York’s Greenwich Village and rubbed shoulders with many prominent artists of the time, including playwright Eugene O'Neill, journalist John Reed, and poet Wallace Stevens. One can’t help but feel that the story of such a complex and influential woman could have been better told by a using a medium of a play—with a multitude of characters from various parts of her life—rather than a one-person show, which in this case, without the narrative flow, is a big constraint.As a performer, Gibbs excels in channeling this fascinating woman—her mannerisms, her sense of humor, and her passion for poetry and life. And Gibbs's physical resemblance to Millay—with her red hair and small frame—helps to create a three-dimensional portrait of her. The story itself, however, is lacking a coherent plot for such a character to inhabit. The articulate conversations and excellent poetry exist in their own space and somehow do not add up to a narrative development. The best moments are when Gibbs as Millay relives one of her first sexual exploits and, later, when she muses aloud about the “stupid” poetry of e.e. cummings.Problems aside, credit is due to the talented, intelligent writer/actress and to First Fig Productions for “channeling” this incredible woman who has been too easily forgotten. I recommend Edna St. Millay Speaks to the Committee on Immortality to anyone who has an interest in history, poetry, and even the bohemian life in New York in the 1920s. It’s an illuminating excursion into the life and foibles of one of the most important poets of the 20th century. If you are more comfortable with a play that has traditional elements—such as beginning, middle, and end, look elsewhere—FringeNYC offers many more linear plays this year that should better suit your tastes.Copyright © 2013 The New York Theatre Experience, Inc. All rights reserved.
