In response to Mike Ng’s review of “The Heidi Chronicles,” I have to say that I was astounded by the praise awarded to the production. Yes, the script may have won an award, but it was a far cry from “flawless.” The script was predictable and didn’t really have anything to say; unless the message that it was going for was that feminists either sell out or live out an extremely melancholy existence. The main character builds her own unhappy failings from the beginning, at a high school dance. If her flakey friend, Susan, or her philandering boyfriend, Scoop, were written any more blatantly as unreliable, self-centered people, then they might as well have dressed them in black and written ANTAGONIST across their chests. Ignore the fact that Heidi is constantly let down by Susan, but continues a martyred friendship with her for her entire life. Never mind that Heidi makes out with Scoop at his wedding reception, in a public area right next to the room where the bride is; obviously he was using her and she had no choice in it.
Heidi at no point struggles with her empowerment, she struggles with not getting what she wants without actually trying or stopping to examine what it is that she does want. The men that she dates are obviously not going to please her; one of them was actually working for Hustler magazine (great subtlety on the playwright’s part). The acting was incredibly presentational, what emotions the script didn’t spoon-feed the audience, the stereotyped, over-the-top performances took care of. The issues at hand were indeed women’s rights and equality, but the script certainly didn’t do much about them except to say that they had issues. Heidi championed women’s art, but it was made out to seem that was the only thing she could get right in her life. Instead of making lasting relationships with new people, she clung to the ones of her youth and let other friends fade out soon after she met them. Then, at her most unhappy and defeated, she adopted a child in hopes that since she was unhappy, maybe her daughter wouldn’t be. I fail to see how that was a strong, stable choice; in fact it was about the most selfish, irresponsible move that she could have made.
Overall, the play was shallow and forced, the ideas being enforced by the actors didn’t match the text, and (by the way) it could have been 15-20 minutes shorter if the stagehands could have maneuvered the sets. “You shoot for a 6 and get a 6 and everyone is happy. But you shoot for a 10 and get a 6, well then you’ve got problems.” If this play was shooting for a 6, I’d hate to see what happened if they shot for 10.
M. Shannon

Leave a Reply