Mr. Bailey's Minder at the Walnut Studio on 3

Theater: Walnut Street Theatre
Show Title: Mr. Bailey’s Minder
Opened: February 21, 2008
Seen: January 21, 2008
Reviewer: Gary Labowitz
Submitted: February 22, 2008

The Walnut Street Theatre presents “Mr. Bailey’s Minder” by Debra Oswald, directed by Debi Marcucci. February 21 – March 9, 2008
Independence Studio on 3
825 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA

This play introduces us to Mr. Leo Bailey (played brilliantly by Bev Appleton), Australia’s greatest living artist, who had become a cynical, sarcastic, and self destructive drunk. His alcoholic behaviors, visible at the start of the play, have driven away family and friends. The genius is living a lonely life in his old home and on a constant binge, waiting, fearfully, for his death. He lashes out angrily and sarcastically at everyone, including his daughter, Margo, who is the only family member still in contact with him. She is “in finance” and administers his money matters out of a sense of obligation even though she loathes him. Into this alcoholic bottom Margo hires a new “minder” (one of a long line of short-term helpers that have fled), Therese (played brilliantly by Erin Reilly). The minder is to tend to Leo and maintain him in his march to death.

While this setup would seem to be formulistic, it works. We just know that Therese will be the successful minder who will pull Leo out of his stupor and mend the family split between Leo and Margo. Why else would there be a play? To present another failed minder? This is doubtful.

The beauty of this play is that as it proceeds we are treated to a battle of incredibly appealing skirmishes. Leo is tough, but Therese is tougher. A street wise youngster who, like Leo, had alienated her family, had an awakening in prison that she could — no, must!
– change her ways and make a new life for herself. She is the Mary Poppins without the magic who will confront Leo, demand he behave, help him, and eventually win him over to a life of recovery, discovery, and acceptance of his life. Leo and Therese go at the battles (and bottles) with vigor and vim. They both, of course, win.

The ending is a bittersweet reconciliation between Margo and Leo (or is it too late?) but not exactly what most of the audience would have in mind. It is realistic and more probable than a fairy tale ending. Good! We need to accept the reality just as Leo, Therese, and Margo must.

The play is well written. It has the poetry of the stage that envelops an audience. In glancing around I noted that the entire audience (except me, of course) was rapt and watching intently as one. (Have you seen the heads following the action at a tennis match? Same thing here.) The play has won the Griffin Award in 2004 in Australia (most outstanding new Australian play or performance text). This is the American premiere. It is a marvelous choice and is presented beautifully.

The theater setting, the studio theatre at the Walnut on the third floor, is a tight little room (seating about 90). It felt a little crowded for the size of the action on stage, but this intimacy certainly gets one into the show.

The lighting works at directing our attention to the ebb and flow of the action. The sound is fantastic; it wraps around you and carries you to the Sydney seaside home of Leo Bailey. The set is a wonder, with the kind of details and work reserved for motion picture sets that will be seen from many angles. So, bravo to the staging.

Bev Appleton (who came out looking like and acting like Anthony Hopkins) takes half-charge of this show. He is forceful, controlled, and never slips into a “hammy” performance which is the easy danger here. If he ever needs an understudy for a role he is playing he should check if Hopkins is available. Erin Reilly (who took the other half-charge of the show) was loveable at first look, and just got better and better. Both actors, in their roles and in their performance, are the two conflicting forces of the show. How wonderful that they both win, both ways!

There is a support cast that does just that. Catharine K. Slusar (Margo) is funny and a mugger, but doesn’t get a sympathetic reaction from the audience until the very end. Jeb Kreager (Karl, a well meaning handyman) and William Zielinski (Gavin, a hanger-on who is taking advantage of Leo) fill out the cast. I was somewhat surprised at the role of Gavin, honestly. He need not have appeared at all, being merely an instrument for a problem introduced in the play. He appears in a cameo, but could have just as easily been mentioned and made known to the audience in dialog. I reckoned he appeared for five minutes in a two hour and twenty-five minute show.

This is not a show for children, not even the child within. (It’s an R rating for language.) It is challenging, but worth the struggle. Move quickly on this one; it won’t be there long.