It’s a good thing TimeLine’s playing space is so small. One hates to contemplate what would be missed of Brooks’s remarkable evocation of playwright Lillian Hellman in a larger venue. Would we see the pained flash of recollection in her eyes as she absently removes her clip-on pearl earrings? Would the catch in her voice behind a muttered “Oh, hell” register to the back of the balcony? Maybe, but given Brooks’s beautifully shaded, emotionally full-bodied performance, we’re glad every seat in the house puts the audience on this actor’s lap.
The fascinating solo memoir winds through Hellman’s life, from her raucous New Orleans childhood to her theatrical successes with The Little Foxes and The Children’s Hour (the latter also at TimeLine) and idyllic years on a New England farm. Anchoring the piece are two of the most significant events of Hellman’s life: the death of her longtime lover, detective novelist Dashiell Hammett, and her appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) where she famously refused to name names.
Under Contey’s restrained direction, Brooks realizes the power of these moments, but never veers into melodrama. Even when Contey opens up the scene with sound recordings and lighting changes to re-create Hellman’s HUAC testimony, intimacy and naturalism remain the watchwords of this production, with Brooks’s touching, funny and insightful performance firmly at center stage.
