Actress draws on Fellini for production

The Italian Actress is sensual, frightening and, as its creators have attested, undeniably kinky.

The 90-minute theatrical production, which premieres tonight at Manbites Dog Theater, is adapted from a novel of the same name, by Duke’s Frank Lentricchia. The play reflects on the transitory nature of beauty and fame and the decay of values and social conscience.

Action unfolds on a noticeably bare and eerily white stage. A long, triangular wading pool splits the stage into two parts, each with its own projection screen where movie scenes occasionally accompany the live action. Fans of film will recognize that many of the scenes are from Federico Fellini’s 1963 black-and-white classic 8 1/2.  Fellini’s most endearing film has a prominent role in the psychology of The Italian Actress. The play’s two leading roles, Jack Del Piero (Jay O’Berski), a producer out of practice for 20 years, and Claudia Cardinale (Lenore Field), the aged titular actress, are constantly tormented by their identification with the film. Del Piero also enlists the frighteningly portrayed Sigi (Lucius Robinson) and Iso (Meredith Sause), lovers who help him resurrect his film career.

The chilling climax of the production involves these two passionate and psychotic characters consummating their shared dream of immortality. Their radical art form is captured by the filming talents of Jim Haverkamp and projected for the audience to see. The action is also punctuated by quirky performances from Chris Burner and Michael O’Foghludha, who play Del Piero’s friend and father, respectively. Their twisted levity provides many laughs.

The original title of Fellini’s 8 1/2 was Beautiful Confusion, and Fellini branded his film as a comedy. Anyone who has seen 8 1/2 cannot help but laugh at the eclectic and satirical humor that imbues Fellini’s work, but ultimately the feature does not come off as comic. The Italian Actress, also rife with comic pauses, comes off in the same way.

It is somewhere between comedy and tragedy, and thus undeniably confusing. In one particularly odd scene, Del Piero’s father appears in a completely white suit and proceeds to putt a Ping-Pong ball across the surface of the wading pool. He gives his son a sermon on the nature of beauty—one of many confusing, abstract scenes that forces the audience to draw its own conclusions.

The Italian Actress will run from tonight until Sept. 26 at Manbites Dog Theater, 703 Foster St. For more information, visit manbitesdogtheater.org/season.