In the early 17th Century, Venice was an international hub of commerce, finance and legalized prostitution. Brocade takes place in this hedonistic world. Prostitution was legal as an undesirable but preferred alternative to the rampant homosexuality at the time. City leaders believed the sight of women’s breasts would convert the men. In the red light district, whores were allowed and even encouraged to bare their bosoms. This action took place at the now infamous Ponte delle Tette (“Bridge of Tits”).
In his new play, Robert E. DiNardo uses this promising period to amuse and titillate (pun unavoidable). Countess Felicita Bonini (Carla Lewis) runs an orphanage which has a cupboard on the outside. A new novice (Sarah Kebede-Fiedler) is told to check it every half hour so the babies don’t die there. This location is where the prostitutes drop off their unwanted offspring. Yes, this is a comedy.
Orazio (Bennett Saltzman) grew up in this orphanage and took a keen interest in sewing. His abilities had to be improved over time. He cut himself so often that the nuns began calling him “little stigmata.” Older now, Orazio works with the Countess’ sister Bianca making dresses for the whores. The clientele is huge and his work is considered the best.
As you may surmise, Orazio is far from closeted in this Venice and openly wears his creations. When he was young he wore the nun’s habits in order to break them in. The plot machinations get underway when an eighty-five year old matriarch from the royal society asks him to design her a dress. Should he walk away from the enormous market and design for the cheapskate rich folk?
He considers these alternatives while in bed with his lover, Mustat, an older man. In the play’s finest acting scene, the two discuss the drama after an obvious interlude. Mustat is a black man from Africa who was brought to Venice. His backstory is beautifully detailed making this character the richest and most complex. Jacob Silburn is excellent in the role of this intelligent and accomplished survivor.
Bianca desperately wants to work on the royal outfit. She “deserves a little thrill” as she is now an elderly virgin. Her sister runs the highly regarded convent. She turned its misfortunes around. The Franciscan friar in charge previously was burned at the stake. Twelve nuns gave birth within one year thanks to the randy priest. Apparently that was too much intrigue for a city with over 11,000 whores!
Enter Agostino Amadi, the stud. Or, rather, the used-to-be stud who has aged considerably since his widely known exploits with females all over Europe. He now has secretive business dealings with the powerful of Venice. He even had a fling with our convent innkeeper back in the day. With a nosy novice skulking through the nunnery, you have all the makings for a delightful screwball comedy.
Under the direction of Shela Xoregos, the play suffers from bad pacing and some performances which do not reach broadly enough. The entire scenario is hilarious and the story’s twists and turns are very enjoyable. It seems impossible to be bored with an enticing combination of gays, whores, nuns and a gigolo. If truth be told, boredom sets in frequently.
The opening of the second act is a noticeable example of a funny scene which isn’t staged fast enough. There are two separate conversations happening. Pauses between them sap all momentum. In addition, one character has witty asides and makes comments to the audience. Everything falls flat despite the good set-up.
As the has-been Agostino, Gene Santarelli comes very close to creating the buffoon. It’s a performance laced with an excess of twinkletoe-isms so believing he was the virile stud is a tad difficult. Therefore, when he dons a dress, it’s less humorous than it could be. He was amusing overall, though, and the performance style of hammy thespian was a solid choice. Ethelyn Friend was also quite enjoyable as the virginal Bianca and her myriad of facial expressions were fun to watch.
The play felt too long but, admittedly, this endurance test was made more difficult than necessary. The laughs were there in the script. The story was a good one. I loved the upward and downward juxtaposition of women’s roles. Brocade considers how one might think in order to manage their life at this particular time.
Unfortunately, the audience was in a coma for the majority of the performance. I might be able to recommend the play Brocade but definitely not this production.
Brocade will be performed at the Theater for the New City until February 16, 2020.