A middle-aged British woman, wife, and mother wonders whatever became of herself and sets out to rediscover life in Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine. Jennifer King stars in the one-woman show now running on the Rotary Stage in the Sonoma Community Center through Feb. 22.
We meet Shirley in her Liverpool home kitchen where she’s preparing a dinner of chips and egg for her (unseen) husband. Shirley spends a lot of time these days talking to her kitchen wall,as her children are grown and out of the house and her husband isn’t the most communicative person.
Shirley’s been given an opportunity to travel by a friend, something she’s always dreamed about. She wants to drink wine in the country where the grapes were grown, and a trip to Greece with her friend just might be the ticket. She wants the opportunity to be the Shirley Valentine she once was.
We learn about Shirley through the stories she tells about her youth, her schooling, her friends, her family, and… sex. She talks a lot about sex. Her frustration with life is palpable. When one finds oneself in a rut, it’s fair to review how one got there in the first place.
The first half of the play is all about Shirley building up the strength to take the trip to Greece. The second is what happens when she gets there. It should come as a surprise to anyone that Shirley gets her groove back.
King commands the stage from the get-go, bringing the audience into Shirley’s life through gentle humor and compelling storytelling and never letting them go. It’s a very human performance.
Set designer Laurynn Malilay makes great use of the space. The functional kitchen set is nicely detailed and the transition of the space from Liverpudlian kitchen to seaside Greek resort works well.
Director Sharon Winegar leads an all-female team in bringing an (interestingly enough) male playwright’s take on a woman’s mid-life crisis to life. Russell believed so strongly in his character that he actually performed the role for three weeks early in its run when the actress cast took ill.
While the character is certainly female and a great deal of the issues Shirley struggles with are female-centric (Particularly on the subject of sex. Be prepared to hear the word “clitoris” a lot.), it would be a mistake to label Shirley Valentine as strictly as “a woman’s play”. What person of a mature age hasn’t looked back at the regrets in their life? Who hasn’t toyed with the idea of a re-start or re-invention?
You may not leave the theater and book that trip to a far-flung place you’ve always thought about taking.
But you’ll think about it.
‘Shirley Valentine’ runs through February 22 on the Rotary Stage at Andrews Hall in the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Thurs – Sat, 7:30pm. Sat & Sun, 2pm. $25–$42. 866.710.8942. sonomaartslive.org.
