Text size:

Albees Occupant is useless

By Matt Windman

11:15 AM EDT, June 12, 2008

Mercedes Ruehl and Larry Bryggman in Edward Albee's " Occupant." (Carol Rosegg)

When many of us attend an absurdist drama by Edward Albee, we spend most of the time attempting to decipher the cryptic but somehow brilliant nature of the piece. But at the pretentiously titled "Edward Albee's Occupant," one is more likely to sit in bewilderment over how Albee could have penned such a seemingly inconsequential, didactic two-character biography play. Did Albee really write this?

"Occupant" is an admiring portrait of the abstract sculptor Louise Nevelson (1899-1988). According to Albee, who knew Nevelson in her later years, it is a quest to capture a charismatic and complex artist and persona. What is the relationship between creator and creation? Who was Louise Nevelson? According to Albee, only she knew.

"Occupant" was originally staged by the Signature Theatre Company in 2002 in a production starring Anne Bancroft, but the critics were not invited due to her failing health. Six years later, it now features Mercedes Ruehl as Nevelson.

Larry Bryggman plays an anonymous interviewer who grills Nevelson over the facts of her life, constantly questioning whether she is telling fact or fiction. It also appears that the interview is taking place in the afterlife. "I've never interviewed someone who is dead before," the journalist confesses. "Yeah? Well, I haven't been interviewed since I'm dead," the artist replies.

Considering that Albee is the most revered playwright in America, one suspects that there is more to "Occupant" than meets the eye. But unless you are willing to dig endlessly for its supposed significance, it feels no more or less compelling than any other one-person show detailing a celebrity's accomplishments. "Occupant" is a lecture-like conversation, albeit a well-acted one.

Ruehl, covered in Nevelson's robe, head scarf and sable eyelashes, takes her role quite seriously, bringing to life Nevelson's flamboyant personality and Russian accent. And Bryggman attempts to add a mysterious, ghostly quality to the interviewer role. But it would probably be easier to digest the facts of Nevelson's life from a Wikipedia article than to waste two hours of your life sitting through "Occupant."

Signature Theatre Company, 555 West 42nd St, 212-224-PLAY, $20. Tues 7pm, Wed-Fri 8pm, Sat 2 & 8pm, Sun 2pm. Thru July 13.