Inwood, who is a contributor to The Crimson, has carefully directed this play--difficult timing problems are carried out gracefully. The audience learns to trust her. Even though the performance can be a little too fast-paced and full of emotional confrontations at times, Inwood stays in control and doesn't let the speedy banter get out of hand.
The dynamic between Salie and Lucano works wonderfully. Audrey and Victor flirt and argue wildly back and forth. Audrey is a demanding character: a pouty, overly cute teenager who in fact is a talented artist with real substance. We rarely find this risky combination of adolescent coquetry and artistic depth, but Salie succeeds in merging the two. Victor is sweet, but has a quick tongue; Lucano plays the role of the older man with charm, not smarm.
Reproducing Georgia benefits from the high quality of its script. Although in some parts the play ties together a bit too well--the artifice occasionally shows through too boldly--it has moments of great humor and wit. Hartman has an impressive command of the wit which makes the two and a half hours of this play fly by.
Nell Benjamin and Daniela Raz, playing a panoply of parts, provide crucial humor. Benjamin, as both a California "gag me with a spoon" type and a ditzy New York socialite, is hysterical. Raz, as Audrey's obsessive, freaked out mother captivates with her hilarious pronouncements. She fulfills the demands of Hartman's elaborate characterizations flawlessly. These two are a pleasure to watch.
Howie Axelrod comes into his own as Audrey's far out and goofy California boyfriend--he utters his hippie platitudes with just the right combination of humor and perplexity to endear him to us without distracting us from more important characters.
As the play draws to a close, the two couples rendezvous in the metropolitan Museum of Art. O'Keefe urges Audrey to leave Victor. "Not again, Alfred, never again," she says, implying her regret over their love affair.
Can art be made where sex is involved? Will a lover sap the artistic flame essential to the creation of great works? One looks at O'Keefe's work and thinks not; the passion there is unmitigated and uncompromised.
In the end, the power of true love triumphs--not over Art, which will flourish--but over anxiety about independence. See Reproducing Georgia--Art will be made and love will be made. The power of the artistic vision makes a great subject for this well-directed, well-acted and well-conceived play.