‘Dirty Blonde’
Where: Signature Theatre, The Ark Theater, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through Oct. 4
Info: $47 to $71, discounts available; 703-573-7328; signature-theatre.org
If you’re thinking of going to “Dirty Blonde” — the Claudia Shear/James Lapine play with music at Signature Theatre — in hopes of hearing the actress playing Mae West repeat some of Mae’s famous, risqué lines, you won’t be disappointed. There are many, spoken by Mae and other characters as well.
For this is not just a re-creation of the life of the entertainer West, who fabricated a personality and a living through grit, determination and attitude. It is also the story of two of West’s fans, who meet and share their adoration of the star, a devotion that binds them deeply.
Emily Skinner plays both West and her young fan, Jo. Though Shear’s intention is not to imitate West, but to examine her appeal to many generations, Skinner is a dead ringer for Mae, changing instantaneously from Jo to the elderly West with a change of gait and the addition of West’s famous nasality. As Jo, Skinner comes across as savvy, credible and thoroughly likable.
The presence of a second fan, Charlie (Hugh Nees), expands the focus of the play. Playing a devotee lucky enough to earn an audience with West, Charlie visits with her annually, while she narrates the highlights of her life and gives him a special understanding of her existence. Although there are moments when the relationship between Charlie and Jo seems improbable and about to overwhelm the Mae West tale, Shear pulls back just in time and keeps both strands of her story neatly braided.
J. Fred Shiffman is excellent as West’s long-suffering husband and various vaudeville entertainers. Director Jeremy Skidmore keeps the play moving smoothly, using projections to narrate the passage of time in West’s early career.
Helen Huang’s costumes capture the arc of West’s life, from her simple Brooklyn beginnings to the super-glamour of her Hollywood heyday to the elegant seediness that represented the end of her life. Daniel Conway’s set (two golden frames, one set inside the other) create the illusion of an ever-present stage, a fitting environment for West, who was — to herself and others — always onstage.
