A play about surfing and the choppy waters of life? Swell.

Washington Post

5 days ago

When you hit the beach, you count on waves. At the Pacific-shallows setting of Aurora Real de Asua's comedy 'Wipeout,' you're in for surges of life-affirming sentiment that scud and peak and wash through the tale with grace but a certain predictability. Watching this story about three 60-plus-year-old women taking their first surfing lesson, you are never far from a heartstring-tugging beat or a triumph-of-the-human-spirit epiphany, many of which you can see coming from a nautical mile off.
Still, while the playwright delivers few surprises, her dialogue billows with delightful zingers. Director Danilo Gambini makes one major miscalculation in his Studio Theatre staging, but the production features a few gloriously funny sequences and some moving ones.
The golden girls seeking hang-ten instruction in this scenario are old friends and contrasting personalities whose reunion in Santa Cruz, California, simmers with charged memories and barbed banter. Gary (Katherine Cortez) is a firecracker of energy and enthusiasm. The oft-married Wynn (Delissa Reynolds) is prickly in a way that obviously masks inner pain. Claudia (Naomi Jacobson) is a high-strung and anxious type quick to see a shark in a piece of kelp. As 19-year-old surfer dude Blaze (Alec Ludacka) attempts to teach them how to shred, the trio contemplates aging, grapples with old hurt and memories, and experiences the bittersweet glories of friendship.
The terrific actors bring intensity to their roles when needed, as when Claudia all but palpitates with last-minute misgivings about the surf lessons, a stricken look in her eyes. But the most satisfying scenes are the ones that show off the performers' superb comic timing. Blaze makes his entrance in a priceless sequence that's half beach-god swagger, half innocent-teenager frolicking. And the cheerful, tone-deaf bro vibes he brings to his coaching sessions can be hilarious.
Cortez, Jacobson and Reynolds find the zest in the play's quips. 'You always say Cabernet is only good for district attorneys and libertarians,' Wynn reminds Gary when the conversation has turned to wine.
But if the drollery in the situation and relationships comes through, the characters' courage sometimes doesn't, because of a staging conceit that, while impressively bold, ultimately proves counterproductive. 'Wipeout' is set entirely in the water, but at Studio we see the action unfold in the kitchen and living room of a meticulously realized beachside bungalow, complete with wicker furniture, china cabinets and TV sets (which relay some ocean imagery). Even as the protagonists talk about paddling techniques or scope out the bodies of other beachgoers, they appear to be hanging out indoors — Wynn is even dressed in flowing pink lounge wear. (Jimmy Stubbs designed the set, and Valérie Thérèse Bart the costumes. Lighting designer Andrew R. Cissna adds some fun éclat at times of ride-the-swell excitement.)
The gimmick allows for varied movement and stage business while avoiding any need to mimic flotation: Rather than milling around awkwardly with surfboards, the characters appear to indulge in at-home activities like drinking martinis and eating grapes. There is some ingenious use of faucets and the like to evoke maritime brine (the melting contents of an ice bucket conjure a current), and a coffee table is an adequate stand-in for a surfboard. The setup arguably adds theatricality on one level, forcing us to imagine the Pacific when we're looking at what could be a spread from Elle Decor.
But the imagery has the unfortunate side effect of visually relegating the characters to domesticity — the women, especially, since they do most of the puttering. This day in the sea is probably one of the braver things Claudia, Gary and Wynn have done, and instead of allowing the stage picture and body language to bring that out, the production often makes their surfing gambit feel tame.
As the play nears its climax, there are some admittedly powerful reveals that emphasize the significance of the three friends' oceangoing fling. For them, the meaning arrives in rogue-wave twists. For us, it's more familiar whitewater.
Wipeout, through July 27 at Studio Theatre. About 110 minutes, no intermission. studiotheatre.org