OFF-BROADWAY REVIEW
MR. & MRS. FITCH REVIEW
Reviewed by Colleen Verbus
Published 2010-03-16
Today’s headline news stories are drastically different than those from ten years ago. These days, you can see Tiger Woods’ sex scandal or John & Kate (of “Plus 8” fame)’s divorce all over the headlines. (is it that different, though? OJ…).With today’s constant media frenzy of celebrity news, it makes sense for Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed, As Bees in Honey Drown) to write a play Mr. & Mrs. Fitch focusing on characters who are celebrity journalists or gossip columnists. John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle uproariously play the titled couple in a fun and breezy 1 hour and 45 minute play.
As the play begins, the setting appears to be a dark apartment, at 3 am, somewhere in Manhattan – up until you hear loud noises from the doorway. Enter Mr. and Mrs. Fitch, drunk, who have both returned from a who’s who kind of party. They sit down to discuss which celebrities attended, who brought who and what they are wearing. They have a deadline and must submit their column of decent quality by the deadline, or they could be fired.
After submitting their gossip page, their boss finds their column isn’t juicy enough. So what do they do? The make up a fake new fresh face on the celebrity front – Jamie Glenn. He’s described as very attractive, artistic and the hot new man of the town. They run with it…and it works! As the play continues, they struggle more and more to figure out more ways to get Jamie Glenn – and themselves – into the spotlight…and, of course, to stay on top in the gossip.
John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle’s portrayal of these characters is hilarious and fun. Ehle plays Mrs. Fitch as the instigator of their scheming, while Mr. Fitch furthers their ploy. Lithgow‘s Mr. Fitch is zany and intelligent. Both make clear that gossip-writing isn’t quite the paths they chose; the invention of Jamie Glenn is an attempt at course-correction after years in a wayward career.
Occasionally, Beane’s script rambles off track and can be confusing at times – which celebrity is he poking fun at?? And are they supposed be fake names of real-life celebrities? At one point during the play, Mr. Fitch tells a story and rambles on for a few minutes. Mrs. Fitch, then, asks him what the point of that story was about – which I’m sure that was mine and the rest of the audience’s exact thoughts. But Lithgow and Ehle perform well with the script they have and make it a fun performance to watch.
Mr. & Mrs. Fitch is directed by Scott Ellis and is currently being performed at Second Stage Theatre until April 4.
Click here to buy group tickets.
