Review
A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop
59 E 59 Theaters
March 25, 2006
Morgan Wycks
mwycks@nyconstage.org
A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop by Marta Goes, is a two person drama performed as a one person show, a vehicle if you will for Amy Irving. Ms. Bishop the Pulitzer Prize winning poetess, had a relatively difficult life, alcohol being an ever present temptation. But as drama, she herself might tell you it's not the most dynamic idea.
Playwright Goes focuses on Bishop's trip to Brazil and her subsequent relationship with Lota, a lesbian affair that lasted a number of years. When you subtract the other half of the equation from the stage, you're left with either hearing about their relationship from the one-sided storyteller or only getting reactions and responses from that storyteller when the invisible mate is in the room. It has a narcotic effect despite Ms Irving's loveliness. As a stage actress, Ms. Irving's voice has a narrow range that doesn't help the lean narrative and even when emotionally honest scenes arise, they're coming from a vacuum. The most electric moments arrive with the actual poetry which Ms. Irving delivers eloquently.
Why Primary Stages has chosen this work poses a quandary I can't fathom. They have lavished a turntable set by Jeff Cowie with two entrances that look like giant eyes opening and closing as new furniture appears, as well as nicely tailored period costumes by Ilona Somogyi. Ms. Bishop probably would have advised to save the money and buy the books instead.
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