What are society’s limits? What is acceptable, what is not, and why? These are questions posed by Mountain Community Theater’s production of Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, a play which provoked both laughter and groans of disgust from its audience when it opened last Friday.
The story concerns Martin, a successful architect who is happily married and seems to have no problems at home, besides a mild disapproval of his son’s homosexuality. However, following a common theme in Albee’s plays, all is not well with Martin’s marriage. To the utter revulsion of his wife Stevie, his son Billy and his best friend Ross, Martin has fallen in love with a goat.
While showing the devastation wrought by Martin’s actions, the play also exposes prejudices latent in supposedly liberal-minded characters, an aspect underscored by MCT’s set design for the family’s living room. The modern furniture, the esoteric art hanging on the walls, the wooden phallic figure resting in the bookcase—it all suggests the up-to-date, middle class and liberal attitude which will be put to the test by goat-loving Martin.
MCT has assembled a fine cast for this play, including Jeff Swan as Ross and Michael Wiggins as Billy. Tara McMilin does a splendid job as Stevie—her rage at playing second fiddle to a farm animal is overpowering, and the first dish she breaks on the floor is a shocker. John Robinson’s Martin is comparatively flat, though he manages to convey enough anguish and despair to make the performance worthwhile. It’s difficult to imagine the character played any other way; after all, it is the reactions of the other characters to Martin that create the drama. The back-and-forth between Robinson and the others is initially gripping, and though it grows tiresome during the second act, the fault lies with the repetitive dialogue of Albee’s play, not with the actors.
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? is going to be a tough sell. Its subject matter makes it completely unsuitable for children and likely off-putting for most adults. Even so, it is the perfect play for a left-leaning town like Santa Cruz, because it will challenge even the most liberal, open-minded audience to examine its beliefs.
THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA? runs Fri-Sun at 8pm through July 3, with additional performance Thu, July 1 at 8pm, at the Broadway Playhouse, 526 Broadway, Santa Cruz. Tickets $14-$17 at mctshows.org.
